


Love Finds A Way Home

by LFFLCollective



Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: Adventure, Adventure & Romance, F/M, Humor, Romance, Snark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-08-08 02:44:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 25,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16420874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LFFLCollective/pseuds/LFFLCollective
Summary: David Jones woke one day, not sure who he was. Meeting a one Sarah Williams and her brother Toby was about to turn all their worlds' upside down, and send them off on a quest to save each other, the Underground and everyone in it.





	1. Chapter 1

He woke up in a small room, the night before was a blur.

In fact everything before that moment of waking was fuzzy.

His frequented nest of favored pillows and blankets made him not really think much past his nose. He was cold and his feet felt itchy. Rubbing his hands together to warm them up, he climbed out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom.

After he flushed he started to wake up, confusion was pooling in his mind as he started questioning his actions. "Flushed? Do I flush? What is flushing?" Turning he looked in the mirror and realized the face looking back at him was not his own. Or was it? He sat on the side of the tub and sighed.

Feeling he was just still shaking off being so tired, he slowly made his way back to the room he'd woken up in.

Not able to get the fog cleared from his mind he crawled back into the nest of pillows and blankets and decided he was just dreaming, closing his eyes he let sleep take him.

Waking up a little later, he immediately opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings.

Nothing had changed , yet everything felt different. Foreign.

_Why he was he was stuck here? Where, exactly, was here?_

Sitting up he placed his head in his hands, then proceeded to vigorously rub his face.

He tried to clear his head, the fog kept him from understanding where he was, or why he was there.

_Who am I?_

With a heavy sigh, he forced himself to climb out of bed once more and stumbled to the kitchen. His stomach was making it obvious to him that food was needed. Opening the fridge he stared at the empty shelves. "What is this thing? And why is it empty? I don't make food...Do I?"

Clutching his head in his hand he tried to remember, but the more he thought about it, the more his head hurt. "Blast it all, why can't I remember what happened?"

He retrieved a glass of water, though the act of grabbing the glass and filling it from the sink felt wrong to him. Sitting in the recliner in the living room, he sipped the cold liquid slowly. When the ugly green plastic glass was empty, he placed it on the table and sat back. "This feels all wrong. What's wrong with me?"

Seeing his wallet on the table, he picked it up and rifled through it. "Ah." He found a card that had a picture of the man he saw in the mirror.

"David Jones." He read out loud. He read it again, slower. It felt strange on his tongue, these words. This name. The name did not flow. It was unnatural for him to say them when pertaining to himself. It was far too simple. His name should be majestic, grand, and strong.

He took a deep breath, still feeling unrested. He felt warm and laid the back of his hand against his head he looked tiredly around his surroundings.

The remains of the water felt tangy in his mouth and was not enough to clear the dryness in his throat. Still the thought of drinking from the plastic container again was an unappealing one.

The chair was not uncomfortable but somehow he knew he had sat in better. He couldn't quite remember and the harder he tried to retrieve the memories, the deeper his head ached from the effort.

 _Perhaps my mind will feel clearer once I get to work,_  he thought.  _Wait...what?_

He seemed to have two sets of instincts battling for dominance in his brain. He had a desire to go to work, and a compulsion to kick small creatures in frustration.

_What? That's not normal! You don't kick animals! Have you lost your mind, David Jones?_

_Fuck. I'll just...go to work. That's it. Do that._

Trying not to question what he was doing, he went to his closet, selected a blue suit, and delved into his drawers, only to blink at the boxer briefs presented therein.

He couldn't recall ever wearing underwear before, but obviously these were his, so he shrugged and put them on, along with the rest of his clothes. Still, the nagging sensation of a sense of wrongness persisted.

"I just need coffee," he told himself. He grabbed his wallet and a set of keys off of a table near the door and left the abode, remembering to make sure it was locked.

He let his feet carry him where they knew to go. Down several flights of stairs into a huge cavern. He was drawn to a shiny red car partway down one row. He unlocked it, got in and started the engine.

_Do I drive? I suppose I do. Here I go._

He pulled out and let his instinct and muscle memory take over. A voice came from the car and told him which direction to turn. He was going somewhere called KBAL in a building call Underground Artists Company Building. As he continued towards his destination, the buildings got bigger and bigger until he could barely see the tops of them from his vantage point. He was directed to turn into another cavernous hall, and parked. When he got out of the car a man was waiting. "Good morning Mr. Jones. Keys?"

He handed them over.

_Frankly if i never have to do that again, it would be too soon._

As he walked through the doors, he was greeted but a young woman at the front desk and he asked her what he did there, she laughed and said, "Why Mr. Jones, you're the upcoming DJ don't you remember?" She gave him a sly look. "Oh wait, the other girls warned me you tend to play jokes, is this one of your pranks and now you are pretending to not know you are live on air in 20 minutes? I guess you'll be telling me you don't even know what room your set up in."

She blushed. "I listen to you all the time I know your schedule by heart!" She giggled as though she had revealed a deep dark secret no one but her diary or her closest girlfriends knew, then handed him the key to the private elevator and gave the floor number.

"If you "forget" again do come back, I love this game!" She used air quotes to emphasize the word forget.

He shook his head and headed to door she pointed to and wondered what the hell he was doing. He inserted the key and got in to the small room, then was startled when it began to move. He held on, going a little green as it shot upward. When it stopped and opened, he exited as fast as he could, his legs shaky.

_I need coffee. I'm not even sure what coffee is, but I know I need it._

The aroma of the fragrant brew drew him into the break room of the familiar, yet not building.

Mechanically fixed himself a cup, still unsure of what this coffee concoction was.

Taking a sip, he cringed at the bitter taste of it. Adding some sugar and creamer to it, he tried again. It was horrible, but the added sweetness of the sugar and white chocolate raspberry creamer made it easier to drink. "Do I really drink this?" He asked himself out loud.

"Hey, it's David Jones finally rolling in!" A gravelly voice spoke from behind him, startling him, causing him to spill a bit of coffee down his shirt.

"Bollocks." David grabbed a napkin and dabbed at the mess. "What?" He asked the man who addressed him.

"Smooth, Brit. " The man laughed. "You're on in 15. One song, news break, I'll sign off and do the top of the hour ID, then you're on."

David looked at him blankly. "Umm..alright. "

_Is that really_ _my name? David? It still_ _doesn't sound right coming from someone else. Oh well. It will have to do, as I don't seem to have another._

The man was exceptionally tall, dark haired, with a ponytail and goatee. "Hey man you okay? What'd ya do party all weekend? You seem out of it. Look worse than me and I've been here all night."

"I don't...Maybe. My memory seems to be rather foggy." He admitted.

The other man laughed. "Damn. Makes me wish I wasn't married, but I guess the girls love the accent, huh? Anyway, gotta get back, song is ending."

He trailed behind the taller man, so he would know where exactly he was supposed to be in 15 minutes.

Following the man down the hall, he stopped when he went into a room with glass window by the door. He didn't know why but he knew to stay in the hall for now. He watched the man pickup a headset, put it on and press some buttons. A red light in the hall turned on and began to blink.

"Hey! Hey! That was Prince, partying like it's 1999. I'm sure all you crazy party animals are just getting started, but my time's up. I'll be back tomorrow same time, same place. Next up is everyone's favorite Brit, David Jones. making all the ladies sigh with just his voice. Don't worry guys he'll play more great hits from the past for you. This is big Tony D the Italian Stallion signing off. You're listening to WBAL the sound of Baltimore."

As Tony hit more buttons the light in the hall was extinguished and he took the headset off, then he opened the door joined him in the hall. "It's all yours man. You got about 20 seconds, better get in there.''

David nodded and hurried into the room and put on the headset. He could hear a commercial playing and it was near its end. Looking at the graphic equalizer, he started to panic. "What do I press?"

Tony gave him an incredulous look. "Holy crap dude, you did have one hell of a weekend. Take a deep breath. Here press the red button to talk, the green to start the next set, and after that, the quarter hour news break will be up. I can't stay, I need to get home. I'm wiped."

He moved to door but turned back. "She must have been one hell of a girl to rattle your cage so much you lost your memory. " Laughing, he left David alone in the room, trying to figure out the hell he was supposed to do.


	2. Chapter 2

As Tony walked to the storage room to grab his things, he almost ran into the new newswoman. "Hey easy there Williams. Where's the fire?"

"Where is he?" she demanded.

"Who?" Tony asked as he grabbed his coat.

"The British Bastard." Sarah seethed.

"David's in the recording studio." Tony replied.

"Thanks." Sarah said before storming off.

Tony chuckled. "Jones you sly dog. You did pick one hell of a woman. No wonder you're all topsy turvy today."

David stumbled through his script, but managed to get the right buttons. He had some vague recollection of doing these things before, so it wasn't quite as difficult as he thought

His fingers seemed to know what to do even if his brain was still trying to catch up. He started the "threefer" which indicated there would be 3 songs in a row by the same artist, and leaned back to sigh in relief. He didn't even know how long his tenure in the room would be but he might survive without screwing up too badly.

As he closed his eyes, the door banged open, and he jumped. When he opened his eyes, they met with a pair of angry green ones, which happened to be attached to a beautiful, if not obviously pissed, woman with her dark hair up in a bun, waving a sheath of papers. "Okay asshole, let's just get this out now. I don't know what the hell happened, but if you didn't want to go out what the hell did you ask for? How dare you leave me just standing there like that?! "

"I...um..." He had no idea what to say, because he didn't know who this woman was.

"Could it be, the high and mighty David Jones is speechless for once?! What the hell did you think would happen? I'd completely forget that you ran away like you saw a fucking ghost after kissing me?! Leaving me waiting in that club for over an hour!? "

Sarah stormed past him to the other half of the booth behind a glass partition. She put on a second headset, sand prepared herself to broadcast the news on the quarter hour.

David was too dumbfounded to speak.

He shook his head in both bewilderment at the situation and frustration at her.

_Didn't she know who he was? How dare she speak to him like that! Why if any one else dared to speak at him so rudely so..so..defiantly he would...he would..._

Damn it all why couldn't he remember what would happen.

There was a shooting pain in the back of his skull. He took a deep breath, held it to calm himself, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Steeling himself, he went around the partition and leaned against it, noting her angry reaction to his sudden presence at her side. He thought quickly, letting whatever came into his head escape from his mouth unhindered.

"You got me." he said quietly almost apologetically, "Of course after kissing the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, why wouldn't I get spooked. Could it be I thought you had a really large boyfriend or older brother, or maybe an entire gang coming to beat me up because I had dared...DARED...to kiss their fiery enchantress of a sister? Well let me set something straight here..." he glanced at her little desk plaque where the name Sarah Williams was very neatly penciled in on a piece of paper.

Just seeing it like that took half the wind out of his sails as he continued. "Sarah...Williams..." He almost whispered the last part.

_That name...I know that name. It stirs something deep inside I cannot begin to put a name to._

"I...I...would do it again. I would kiss you again if even it cost me my very life." He exhaled and looked away chewing on his knuckle as he couldn't believe he was literally trapped with this infuriating, beautiful woman that he just told he would kiss a second time, and tried to recall what actually possessed him to run away.

A memory came crashing into his mind.

_The strobing lights flashed through the club, making her eyes shimmer as he leaned in. He needed to taste those red lips...they tasted of peaches from the cocktail she had been drinking...then the pain flared in his head like nothing he'd ever felt..._

Sarah slammed her hand down in frustration, bringing him out of his haze, and stared at him silently for a few seconds, mouth open at his gall, then noticed the clock counting down. "You know what, you have some nerve. But we are going to have to continue this later. Get in there, play the damn lead and cue me. The news starts in less than a minute."

He smirked and went into the other room, her presence clearing the fog somewhat. He managed to find the buttons he needed to push, and the news theme blared out of the speaker in front of him. He sat back and listened to the woman, Sarah, read the news, while looking at her through the glass partition.

She kept glancing up at him, blushing slightly at his frank appraisal.

Sarah was truly annoyed. She had just started working at KBAL weeks earlier, and David Jones has pursued her from the first day. She knew his rep, he always had a lot of groupies fawning over him thanks to his lean, predatory good looks and those dulcet tones topped off by a British accent, but he had been so persistent she agreed to go on a date. It was going great until he kissed her, then he went all squirrelly and took off to the bathroom, never returning.

She had waited for an hour until finally leaving the club, pissed off he deserted her. Now he's laying it on thick again...for what?

As she watched him off and on through the glass, he kept rubbing his head and scrunching his face like he was in pain. Her anger melted a little.

_Maybe he was sick, but he could have just said that. He's just so...so...ugh. What a player. A gorgeous, sexy, player._

She shook it off and concentrated on her job.

As Sarah gave the news report, David couldn't take his eyes off her. She was gorgeous and just seeing her made him smile.

His heart felt warm and ached at the same time. He couldn't understand why he would leave her after one kiss, even if it was a horrible kiss. He could think of so many things besides kissing that he wanted do to his Sarah.

"My Sarah?" He thought. "No not mine, definitely not mine after running from a kiss." He sighed and rubbed his head. Groaning he massaged his temples.

This foggy mind and throbbing head was getting annoying. He wanted to remember who he was, who Sarah was, and most importantly what had happened between them.

"It's been 13 hours since police responded..."

He closed his eyes as another flash appeared before his eyes.  _Turn back Sarah, turn backs before it's too late._  He saw a barren field and a younger version of Sarah.  _You have 13 hours in which..._

Opening his eyes he saw Sarah staring at him, her eyes full of concern. "You okay?" She mouthed before continuing her report.

He nodded to reassure her, but grimaced from the action. He wasn't okay, his mind felt like it was being pulled in two different directions.

When the news report ended, he started another set of music and tried to relax.

She came back into the booth he occupied. "Look, maybe I jumped the gun getting mad. You do seem a bit off. Let's just chalk it up to a bad date. It happens. We can leave it at that. No harm no foul."

He gathered his wits and gave a nod. "Maybe we can try again sometime."

"Uh, no. " She backed away. "Whatever you have going on, I don't know if that's a good idea. Let's just be friendly coworkers right now. My brother is coming for a visit, he's a teenager and I have to set a good example. Toby doesn't need to see me dealing with some weird dysfunctional thing right now. My dad and stepmom are having their own issues."

"Toby? " Jareth replied. "I know that name too." in his mind's eye, he pictured a small blond child in striped pajamas, but had no idea why.

"Well it's a fairly common name, so..." Sarah stepped back through the doorway. "Anyway, I'll be back in a half hour, I need coffee."

He watched her leave, willing himself to try and get a grip on his sanity.

_What the hell is going on?_


	3. Chapter 3

Sarah grabbed her jacket from the closet and hurried out to the coffee shop around the corner. As she waited in line she bit her lip nervously. She wondered what was wrong with David. He definitely wasn't himself and it looked like he had been in a lot of pain earlier.

She sighed as she thought back to their failed date. She knew is reputation and that he was a huge playboy, but she still agreed to go out with him. She wasn't sure what it was about him that made her unable to say no for long. He reminded her of someone, but she still couldn't put a finger on who. She was positive that hadn't met before, and she didn't know very many British men.

"What can I get you Miss?" The barista asked when Sarah approached the counter.

"I'll take caramel macchiato with extra caramel and a banana nut muffin." She ordered as she reached in her purse.

"Sure thing. Anything else for you today?"

Sarah hesitated and checked her money. Sighing, she couldn't believe she was doing this. "Actually yeah, add a dark roast coffee with two pumps of irish cream and a handful of sugar packs."

"You got it."

Sarah paid and hurried back to the office. "He better appreciate this." She grumbled as she hurried inside the building.

Inside the studio, David was finally beginning to get the hang of the job. Luckily there were notes telling him what songs were being played, when to do a commercial or mention a local event.

Everything still felt wrong though. He couldn't explain it, but he felt he belonged somewhere else. Like he should be doing something far grander than talking on the radio. So far only one thing about his day felt right. And that was Sarah. He was certain she was the key to this mess. He was determined to talk to her when she returned.

As if conjured by his thoughts, Sarah walked through the door carrying two coffee cups on a cardboard tray with a muffin in her other hand. Setting the tray of coffee down, Sarah placed one cup in front of David and pulled a small white bottle from her pocket. After removing the cap she shook 2 pills into her hand. "Here. It's obvious your head is bothering you."

David took the pills from her and took them with the water he had been sipping on. "Thank you Sarah."

"I got you a coffee too. I hope it's sweet enough. I remembered you like Irish cream and lots of sugar. I put 4 in, but I have more if it wasn't enough." She told him as she pulled a handful of packets from her pocket.

David grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "You're being far too kind to me, dearest. I don't deserve it." He lifted her hand to his lips and softly kissed her knuckles. "Thank you."

He seemed out of it enough that she tried to hang around the main booth and keep an eye on him in between her 2 spots an hour. He did manage to get things mostly right, but she would see him panic and would walk calmly over to press a button or hand him copy now and then. Fortunately she had previous experience as a music DJ.

He was clumsy and imprecise, quite unlike his usual confident self.

She was standing by the door when there was a light knock. She opened it and a secretary poked her head in. "Um, David, Vivian is here."

Sarah groaned. It was David's ex. He had been talking about her on their date, that she was too snooty and uptight for him. Had wanted him to cut his hair and get a job that was "more dignified" and to get married, but he broke it off, and she was still pursuing him.

He looked at Sarah oddly. "Oh. Who...?"

"Thanks Liz. " Sarah hastily covered. "David will be done in a half hour, she'll have to wait."

The secretary looked at each of them then nodded and left.

"David you should see a doctor. Did you hit your head or something? You don't remember the woman you dated on and off for over a year? " She was starting to get concerned. He did say he had a headache. She had had a concussion once, lapses of memory were a common symptom.

"I don't have any soreness. It's hard to explain. I just find huge gaps of my life are just...not where they are supposed to be. Like a puzzle with pieces missing. I can't even remember having a childhood, but I must have a family somewhere. " He admitted.

"Well that's that then, we are definitely going to a doctor when you're done. I'll take the rest of day off and go with you." Why she was so worried about him, whom she didn't even know him that well, she didn't know. But she felt connected to him, like she was responsible for his well-being, sort of.

David didn't know why, but he felt a huge amount of fear at the idea of seeing a doctor, but he knew he should go. "Alright. Thank you, Sarah, for looking after me. I owe you a great deal, after today."

"No problem, just helping a friend. The song is ending, so let's just get through this show and we can go."  
******************

2 hours later they sat next to each other in an examining room at a walk in clinic a few blocks away. David couldn't remember if he had a regular doctor, but found an insurance card in his wallet from the company carrier.

When he was called in, he dragged her with him into the room.

Sarah felt rather awkward, sitting side by side on the table with him.

"I don't know if I should be here, David. We aren't even a couple."

"Please, Sarah, I'm not sure why, but I'm not comfortable at all with this. I just..."

He was clinging to her hand tightly.

"Hey it's okay. No one likes doctors." she tried to soothe his anxiety. Her mother had a deep fear of doctors too, so she had seen it before.

Linda was so afraid she had waited too long and it had been too late when the pain became to great to ignore. She died of cervical cancer when Sarah was in college.

_What if...? No, don't think about that. He'll be fine._

The doctor came in and asked him a few questions, did a cursory exam, and did the typical check of his eyes, ears and throat. He asked if David had chronic headaches and David shook his head. He checked for any obvious head, neck, or back injuries and found nothing. The blown pupil gave the doctor pause but as David didn't remember why he had it, he had little to go on. Despite that, his eyes reacted normally. "Well Mr. Jones, barring an X-ray and or an MRI, the only thing I can suggest is a mild brain injury where you may have been shaken enough to cause some brain bruising, or selective amnesia and a tension migraine due to severe anxiety or PTSD about something that has happened to you."

He wrote on David's chart as he talked. "You don't seem to have had a stroke or show any symptoms of a neurological disease. On the extreme end is a possible brain tumor but that's not the likely cause, so don't panic. I can't diagnose that, I'm a GP and it's not my wheelhouse. I'll order a neurological specialist referral for those tests, if you wish. You should get that done as quickly as possible in my opinion, because on the off chance it's that serious you don't want to mess around. After those tests, if it's clear, a therapist to talk things through and get to the root of what you may have anxiety over would be the next step. The important thing is to rest, manage your pain, and let yourself heal."

David looked to Sarah. "Yes, do that. " She said.

"What she says." He turned to the doctor.

"Can anxiety really cause all of this?" Sarah asked.

"You would be surprised what anxiety can do. I've seen and endless array of symptoms that turn out to be caused by stress." The doctor told her. "Alright, here. " He began scribbling more notes on his clipboard. When he was done he handed it to Sarah. "Your wife can give this to my receptionist to get that started, and the specialist will be in touch with you."

"I'm just a friend." Sarah answered, "But I'll give it to her if he wants."

The doctor looked between them both, he eyebrows raised. "Oh? Well then, here is a script for a painkiller for your headache. My receptionist will tell you what pharmacy to pick it up at. If it gets worse before the specialist sees you, come back I can give you something a *little* more powerful, but I'd like to stay away from narcotics for the time being."

They did all of that at the reception desk,, and Sarah walked him back to his car. She was worried about him driving, surprised to learn he had driven to work at all. So she offered to drive his car to his place, then take a car back to the garage to get hers, which he gratefully accepted.

When they reached his house, Sarah parked the car in the drive and glanced over to the passenger seat. He was staring out the window and seemed to be a million miles away.

"We're here." She said quietly.

He jumped slightly at the sound of her voice. Looking around he recognized the house as the one he woke up in that morning. It looked and felt all wrong. "This isn't my home." He whispered.

"Did I get the wrong address?" Sarah started looking through papers for the address.

"No, you are correct. I was here this morning, but it's not right. I can't explain it, but I don't belong here." He told her sadly.

"Missing London?"

"London..." He thought about it and had another flash. He saw a towering castle surrounded by a small city. He saw a luxurious bedroom with a canopy bed and silk sheets. Holding his head, he groaned.

"David what's wrong?" Sarah reached over and felt his head. "You're burning up! How did the doctor miss a fever?" She undid the seat belts and got out of the car. Hurrying to his side, she opened the door and helped him out. "Let's get you inside."

"It's a recent development." David mumbled. He had been begun to feel hot on the drive there. He fumbled with the keys when they reached the door, so much so she took them from him and let them inside. She guided him to the plush sofa and sat him down, then went to the kitchen and got a glass of water for him to take one of the pills they had picked up along the way to his house.

She got him to take one them as she helped him lay down.

There was something very wrong, she knew that. There was really bad flu going around and she wondered if he had caught it.

"Maybe we should get you to a hospital instead of a clinic. "

"No! No more human doctors. Please I just need rest. I'll be better tomorrow. "

"Um, okay, but I think all doctors are human. I have met a couple I wondered about, admittedly." She gave him a wry smile.

"Oh of course, yes. I'm delirious." Despite his obvious illness, he smiled back. "What else is there? "

"I'll stay as long as I can, but like I said, my brother is coming tomorrow so I have to leave really early. "

His eyes opened. "You should just go. I'll be fine. Quite used to caring for myself, precious. You never really wanted to stay with me anyway. Go." He promptly fell asleep.

She covered him with a blanket she found in his bedroom, made herself some tea, and flicked on the TV.

Meanwhile, in the underground, The Labyrinth was slowly waking up after years of being frozen in time, and covered in darkness. It was reaching out, searching, seeking it's king.


	4. Chapter 4

Hours later, Sarah was still relaxing in the recliner with the tv going. She wasn't really paying attention to the late night drama that was on, she basically had it on for noise.

Glancing over at the couch, she saw David was still sound asleep. Though it wasn't a peaceful sleep. Several times he had groaned as if in pain or called out to someone. She wasn't sure who it was, but it was clear he wanted them to stay. "I guess he's dreaming about whoever he thought I was earlier." She said to herself.

Surely he had been delirious. He'd never called her Precious before and she certainly never said anything about not wanting to stay with him.

Carefully she got up and sat on the edge of the couch beside him. Feeling his forehead, she was relieved to find his fever was gone.

"Sarah..."

"I'm here." She replied softly. "Just go back to sleep." She told him as she brushed his damp hair from his face.

"Your baby brother will be..."

"It's fine." She assured him. "Toby won't be here for a few hours." She stood and went to get him more water and another dose of medicine.

"One of us forever..." he mumbled as she walked away, barely loud enough to be heard.

Sarah was standing in the kitchen, the glass she had grabbed in her hand and poised under the sink spout, when suddenly his words registered to her.

She blinked, wincing as a pain flared behind her eyes. She rubbed her eyes and the pain faded.

She looked down, cursing as she realized the cup was overflowing and she was just wasting water.

Turning off the sink, she swayed briefly on her feet when those words once more rang in her head, causing the pain to briefly flare back to life.

"Dammit," she muttered, hoping she wasn't catching whatever David had. Shaking her head, she grabbed the prescription bottle and headed back into the living room, where she nearly dropped the glass of water as she stared at David on the couch - except he wasn't David anymore. He was ethereal, with long silvery blond hair, dressed in dark vaguely familiar armor, and his skin glowed slightly.

Gasping sharply and almost tripping over her own heels, she blinked again as David - who was once more plain David - sat up and looked at her with a frown. "Sarah? What is it?"

She swallowed hard and shoved it all to back of her mind as placed the glass down. She was just really tired. "Sorry, my mind must be playing tricks on me. Probably my lack of sleep." She handed him the pill bottle. "Take another dose and try to get some rest."

Nodding, David took the bottle and opened it. After taking the pills he placed the bottle on the table and laid back on the couch. "You should rest as well Sarah." He said as he reached for her hand. "I hadn't meant for you to stay all this time."

Shrugging, Sarah squeezed his hand. "It's alright. I wanted to make sure you were feeling better." She pulled her hand away and stepped away from him. "I should get going though."

David shifted on the couch as he tried to get comfortable but saw Sarah's nervous glances. Frowning, he sat up and watched as she gathered up her things. For the oddest of reasons, he felt it important that she stay.

"What did you see?" He blurted out, finally realizing why she was staring at him oddly.

She stilled, turning as she tossed her things into her purse. She smiled faintly and shook her head. "It's nothing," she laughed faintly, wiping a hand across her brow. "Maybe I'm getting whatever you have. The flu? Who knows?"

She shrugged again and blew it off with a wave as she moved to exit through the front door but he stood quickly, catching her elbow before she darted outside. "Call me if anything else happens? I mean it."

Sarah studied him, frowning, but eventually she nodded. "Get some rest, I'll call you later, or maybe come back by."

"I will rest, I promise." He smiled faintly, as the door closed, David moved back to the couch and sank down, scrubbing at his face. He felt itchy again. Like there was faint electric current under his skin, making it crawl and tingle.

Shaking his head, he glanced over at a mirror on impulse and nearly fell off the couch for what he saw.

Moving quickly, he stared over his reflection: long silver-gold hair, black armor, a cape! Glancing down, he saw he still wore his suit from earlier. Looking back into the mirror, he relaxed to see his normal reflection staring back at him.

"Christ, I need to sleep." With a suppressed groan, he stumbled to his bed and closed his eyes, willing sleep to occur.  
*********************

Deep in the underground, a few tiny goblins began to run around the castle, which was covered in dust. Most of their fellow subjects were still fast asleep and they were unable to wake them. "Where Kingy?" They asked. No one seemed to know where the King was or why they all had been sleeping in odd places, such as the floor or the streets of the Goblin City.

Feeling the trickling return of magic to the Labyrinth, a dark figure appeared at the gates of the Labyrinth. "So he's waking up." Her shrill voice echoed down the long corridor as she entered the Labyrinth. "We'll put a stop to that." With an evil laugh she vanished.  
*********************

Sarah was late in picking up Toby from the airport, parking her car at the curb near baggage claim and hurrying around the side of the car to fiercely hug the scowling 13 year old. "I'm so sorry! I was with a friend earlier, he was sick and I took him to the doctor..."

Toby shrugged her off in the only way a mollified teenager could. "It's cool, Sarah. Let's go."

Pulling back and helping him tuck his luggage into her back seat, she settled back into the driver's seat once Toby was buckled in. She opened her mouth to ask how his flight was only to discover he'd already jammed a pair of earbuds into each ear and was staring out the opposite window.

Sighing, she flipped through radio stations and settled on an 80s station, half listening as she weaved her car back into traffic. Glancing in her rear view mirror, she screamed and almost wrecked the car at what appeared in the mirror. Two creatures, which resembled goblins - where'd she come up with that? - stared pleadingly at her from her back seat, sitting atop Toby's luggage.

"Geez, Sarah, what's your problem?" Toby muttered, plucking one earbud out to stare at her like she had lost her mind.

Glancing at him momentarily, she gestured behind her - only to realize nothing was there. Worriedly, her mind flickered to David, before she settled her nerves and tried her best to keep her attention on the road.

"It's nothing..." She answered.

She could hear loud rap music coming from the ear piece in Toby's hand. Sarah recalled Karen told her she hated that he listened to it, but their father let him do it. One of many fights they'd been having as of late.

"Then do you mind not killing us? I just got here." He turned back to the window and stuck the earbud back in.

Sarah sighed and kept driving. It was going to be a long week.  
*******************

Jareth was laying on his couch staring at the TV when his doorbell buzzed.

He thought to ignore it, but then there was a determined knocking.

"Fucking hell." He got up and shuffled to the door, his legs a bit shaky.

He didn't even think to look through the peephole and just turned the lock and pulled the door open.

"Can I help you? " He asked the woman who stood there. She was attractive, dark hair with bright blue eyes. He could recall seeing her in the past, but didn't really remember when.

She smiled at him and pushed her way inside. "Oh you. I would like to know why I waited in the lobby for over an hour, only to be told you left by the back way from work. Didn't that incompetent secretary tell you I was there? " she threw her coat on a chair and turned to him, removing her gloves.

He replayed the past 24 hours and recalled something about..."Vivian, is it? " He asked her.

"Quit playing your little games, Dave. Fine if you're happy playing music on the radio, I'll let you. For now. But I still insist once we are married you at least look the part of someone more dignified."

While he didn't remember much of this woman, he certainly knew he didn't want to marry her. "I'm sorry, we need to discuss this later, I've been a bit under the weather, and you're giving me headache with your infernal chattering. And don't call me Dave." That just rubbed him the wrong way.

He went and flopped back onto the couch, ignoring her, and he wasn't kidding about the headache, as soon as she entered his living room, the pressure in his head had returned.

She rolled her eyes. "So melodramatic, David. These little tantrums of yours are ridiculous. You're getting harder and harder to control by the minute." She stood between him and the TV, hands on her hips.

That got his attention. Headache or not, something rose up inside him and he was on his feet. "You have NO power over me, woman, and if you defy me, try to control me, you'll be swimming in a Bog FOR THE REST OF YOUR INFERNAL LIFE! "

His voice rose as he stalked closer. He had a mind to grab her by the throat, but managed to reach past her and open the door. He took her arm and practically threw her out over the threshold. "Do not EVER darken my door again, witch! "

The door slammed and locked behind her.

His head throbbing again, he made it back to the sofa before passing out.

Vivian, glared at the closed door. Looking around and seeing no one, a crystal appeared in her hand and she whispered into it. "He is becoming uncontrollable, and the magic is beginning to show cracks. We need to do something soon, or he will remember everything. "

A whisper a voice came from the crystal. "Then all we've worked for will be lost. If we can hold it off a few more months it won't matter and The Labyrinth will be ours, his time to return will run out."

"I'll figure out something. " She whispered back.

There was a clamour on the stairs and she turned to see a dark haired woman accompanied by a young blonde boy coming up. "So please just be quiet, okay Tobes? I just want to check on David and then we can go eat. "

Vivian growled to herself and disappeared into the ether.


	5. Chapter 5

Toby was fastidiously ignoring her once more, his earbuds in place. He looked at her with a bored shrug and she sighed, shook her head and turned to unlock the apartment door.

She knocked softly as she opened the door, she saw David was once more passed out on the couch with a hand cast over his eyes, she frowned and moved towards him.

As she reached out to touch him, he jerked to life and snarled, dragging her against him. "I said you need to LEAVE -"

Sarah let out a faint 'oof!' as she tumbled atop him, blushing brightly and trying to scramble back.

"Sarah?" David murmured curiously, frowning in confusion. "What are...?"

"Really, Sarah? You're dumping me here with your boyfriend? He didn't look very sick to me..." Groused a young teenaged voice from behind.

Sarah instantly felt her cheeks heat and David sat up sharply, gently tucking her against his side as they sat up together.

"Um, this is...David..." Sarah started, gesturing to the man she was half straddling only moments before.

"Nice to meet you," he started, only for the boy to briefly give him an odd stare and shrug him off.

"You look familiar..."

David blinked. "Do I?"

"Yeah, guess you just have one of those faces." Toby shrugged, looking at Sarah, ignoring him. "So, clearly he's not sick. Just invite him to dinner, I'm starving and the plane food sucked. Let's go."

Sarah glared at Toby, slightly horrified at this angsty teenager that had replaced her normally kind and outgoing brother. She glanced back at David, who seemed to be biting back a grin, despite the state he looked to be in. She smiled when he looked her way, shrugging a shoulder with a wince. "Want to join us for dinner?"

"I'd love to," he smiled, standing and helping her up. "Let me just wash up. Five minutes tops." Sarah nodded and watched him move into the other room. Turning sharply, she eyeballed Toby with a frown. The boy rolled his eyes and shrugged as if to say 'What?'

"Would it kill you to be nice?" She scolded him. "He -is- sick, Tobes."

Toby let out an exaggerated sigh and shrugged. "Fiiiine. Now, what's for dinner? Can we go back to that sushi place you took me to last time? Mom and dad still won't let me eat it back home and I've had a serious craving for the stuff since last year. I won't even gripe that you're bringing your 'sick friend.' " Toby used his fingers to make quotation marks on his last two words, smirking and ducking as Sarah grabbed a pillow from the couch and threw it at his head.

"Deal," she hissed softly as she heard David return to the living room, dressed casually in a button up shirt and jeans. She gave him the briefest of smiles, having not planned for her day to end this way - but that just seemed to be how things were ending up the longer she hung around this odd man. "How does Densetsu sound? It's that Japanese joint I told you about the other day at the station? Toby loves their sushi and their miso soup is good, considering your headaches and whatnot. What do you say?"

David smiled and nodded, tossing a blazer over his shirt. "Sounds lovely. Shall we?"

They nodded and moved towards the front door, David quickly grabbing his prescription and slipping them into the pocket of his jacket before they left the apartment.

A pulsing orb in the corner of the apartment briefly flickered to life, then vanished. Down in the Underground, a displeased face stared at what she saw. "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah. Always messing with the best laid plans..."  
*********************

Sarah drove them to Densetsu and they managed to get the corner booth in the back of the restaurant. Sarah ordered her usual, a three roll combo with miso soup. Toby took his sweet time deciding, but settled on the same thing as Sarah but for his three rolls he got all the spicy ones.

David stared at the menu right up until the waiter asked for his order.

Finally deciding to try the beef bento that came with 2 rolls of sushi and sashimi, he placed his order, folded the menu and went to hand it to the waiter. The waiter simply stared at him like he had three heads, which the way his head had been throbbing he wouldn't be surprised if it did split into three.

"What?" He looked to see Sarah and Toby staring at him as well.

"David, you just ordered in Chinese." Sarah whispered.

"Sir I may look Asian, but I assure you I speak perfect English." The waiter told him.

"Actually sis that was Japanese. I recognized a couple of the words." Toby corrected.

"Chinese, Japanese, either way I don't speak it. So try again in English sir." The waiter was getting annoyed.

David ordered again, in English this time and the waiter hurried off. "Don't know what came over me." He chuckled as he rubbed his head.

Sarah watched him for a moment, then turned to her brother. "And just where did you learn Japanese?"

"Anime." He grinned.

Sarah rolled her eyes and looked back to David. "How's your head?"

"Better now that we're out of that apartment. I swear being there made it worse." He answered.

"Maybe you got black mold in the vents. A girl at school got really sick from the stuff." Toby suggested.

"That is possible." Sarah nodded. "Maybe you should stay somewhere else and have it checked out. I do have a spare room at my place."

"That's my room." Toby reminded her.

"For a week." She glared at him. "If things aren't better when Toby goes home you can come stay with me, or take my couch." She didn't know why she was going out of her way to help the guy.

Flashing her a heart warming grin, he took her hand. "I appreciate the offer Sarah, but really I hate for you to go to so much trouble over such a little thing."

"I got it!" Toby exclaimed.

"Well I do hope it's not contagious my boy." David teased.

Sarah shook her head at his bad joke and turned to her brother. "What do you have Tobes?"

"I know why I recognized him. He looks like the Goblin King." Toby grinned.

Sarah choked on her water.

"Are you alright? " David asked. He felt heat go through him like a lightning bolt and his body throbbed, but was becoming adept at ignoring whatever his body was doing all day.

"Toby, where did you hear about that? She managed to get out between coughs. When it settled down she repeated her question.

"I found your old sketchbook and diary from when you were a teenager. You drew him over and over." Toby said between bites. "Pretty funny out of all the guys you could hook up with, you found some dude that looks just like your drawing." He smiled teasingly at his sister, still chewing.

"Close your mouth when you eat, Toby, that disgusting." Sarah said. She kept glancing at David, gauging his reaction, and also secretly seeing if she could see what Toby was talking about.

The man across from her definitely had similar features, but was quite clearly human and not whatever the man, or being, from that dream had been. The memory had mostly faded now, she realized she hadn't thought about it in a very long time.

It had been so vivid, so real, for the first year or so, then faded away seemingly overnight.

"I apologize for Toby, David, he lives to embarrass me."

David smiled to try and put her at ease. "It's fine, love. What are brothers for. I'd like to hear more about this...Goblin King."

Sarah groaned, rubbing her fingers across her brow as she struggled to reply, choosing instead to sip on her drink.

Toby had no such objections. "He was this super handsome King that ruled over goblins. I was being a brat and she wished me to him and had to run for me."

Sarah paled and elbowed Toby in the ribs. He frowned, muttering an 'ow!' and rubbing his side, scowling at her. "Whaaat? A friend at school has a baby sister and I can see why. She's always screaming about something."

Still, it didn't seem like something to joke about. She still detested what she did, in a dream or otherwise, and frowned. Toby seemed oblivious and continued. "So anyways, she had to challenge this King dude to get me back and she won. But she liked him. And I think he liked her, at least that's what Sarah's diary said. How am I doing, sis?"

Sarah glared at Toby who simply smiled sweetly at her. She kicked him under the table, snorting faintly as he missed placing a piece of sushi in his mouth from her action, giving him a faint grin when he scowled at her. He picked the bite up and stuffed it in his mouth smiling at her and then chewed with his mouth open in defiance.

She kicked him again, and he ignored it.

Peering back at David, she saw him doing his best to stifle his amused smile when suddenly he tensed, hissing sharply and stumbling from his chair, clutching his head as if in pain.

"Excuse me..."

He hurried off in the direction of the bathroom without a second glance.

"What'd I say?" Toby wondered curiously, watching as David left the booth.

Sarah frowned, torn on if she should follow.

Toby rolled his eyes. "Oh just go see if he's okay. You know you want to."

"Stay here. I'll be back in a few minutes. When the waiter comes have him bring us some "to go" boxes. " She got up and went to find David."

David's head was pounding. It was like he had a woodpecker inside his head working his way out. A soft knock on the men's room door sounded like a gunshot in his overly sensitive ears.

"David? " Sarah's voice came through the door.

"Come in." he said.

She found him sitting on the floor in the dark. "Oh my God. What happened? Should I call an ambulance?" she crouched next to him.

"I don't..." Another pain made him gasp at its strength, he couldn't speak.

David closed his eyes and leaned forward, his head against her shoulder. A small sob of pain escaped against his will but he couldn't hold it in. He felt like his head was going to explode.

Sarah took out her phone and dialed 911.

"Emergency Services." a voice said in her ear.

"I need an ambulance, now. My friend is...well I don't know what going on, but I know it's not good. " She gave them the address.

She had to briefly leave David leaning against the wall to inform a waiter and Toby. She handed the waiter a wad of cash from her wallet as the manager rushed with her to the bathroom.

A few minutes later the paramedics were loading an unconscious David into an ambulance as a crowd gathered.

Just before he was lifted in, he came to, grabbed Sarah and opened his eyes. "Please Sarah, I need your help. The Labyrinth, it's in terrible danger. As well as Hoggle and all my subjects. You're the only one I can trust to..." He seized and his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he was out.

Sarah was left standing there staring after the ambulance, in shock.

There was no way he could have known that name.

Sarah's memories of her friends came rushing back from the depths of her mind. How could she have forgotten her friends?

_He's...he can't be, but he is. Oh God he really is._

It was like a veil was lifted from her brain, and she could see everything with a crystal clarity she had been missing for years.

David was The Goblin King, and her entire world was turned upside down.


	6. Chapter 6

Outside the restaurant, Vivian watched from a distance as David was placed in the ambulance. Summoning a crystal, she whispered into it. "It doesn't look good. They're taking him to the human medical facility. He may be there for days."

"Find a way to get to him before he breaks free of our spell. Get rid of the champion. She's the only one that can undo everything we've worked so hard to achieve." The dark voice commanded.

"As you wish." She made a fist, and the crystal dissipated.

Sarah and Toby rushed to follow the ambulance to the hospital. The whole way there Sarah's mind was frantic. 'It was all real. The Goblin King is real." There was no way David could have known about Hoggle.

As they parked at the hospital, she leaned her head against the steering wheel. Part of her wanted to take Toby and run. Another part wanted to make sure David/Goblin King was alright, but mostly her mind screamed out its need for answers.

"Hey sis. What are those?"

Sarah looked in the backseat where he was pointing and jumped seeing two goblins sitting in her backseat. "Hi Lady."

"Fuck..." Sarah groaned. She closed her eyes and banged her forehead softly against the steering wheel.

The goblins in the back seat began to giggle and then a responding litany of 'fuck, fuck, fuck' began to sing-song it's way from the back seat.

"Stop." Sarah ground out but was ignored as the goblins continued to use the new word they'd just learned. "I said STOP!" She shrieked, glaring behind her.

Toby simply stared, wide-eyed. "Oh shit. Wait, your new boyfriend is literally the dude you drew in your journal?"

"Toby, I've just listened to a group of goblins enunciate the last curse word they heard about fourteen hundred times in under five minutes - do NOT cuss."

Toby pressed his lips together with a mixture of annoyance and amusement, but before too long, another chanting melody of 'shit, shit, shit' started from the back seat.

"STOP IT!" Both Toby and Sarah yelled that time, the goblins fell silent.

"What're you doing here? Why now? Why is Davi-Jareth so...human?"

"We tells you...as soon as you get rid of the witch lady." The goblins said in a chorus of chirpy voices.

Both Sarah and Toby blinked. "Huh?"

The goblins pointed and they turned, jerking with a yell as Vivian stood on the other side of the driver's door, swinging a crowbar down on the window.

"Toby, run!" Sarah shouted, feeling the window shatter and the woman reached through, grabbing her by the hair painfully.

Toby jumped out of the car, but he didn't run. To both Sarah's, and also to the woman who was currently trying to pull her through a far too small hole made primarily of shattered glass, surprise, he launched himself over the hood and landed on the woman's back, causing her to screech and let go of Sarah.

"Toby no! " Sarah threw open the door and entered the fray, trying to get the crowbar out of the woman's hands.

"Leave my sister alone you crazy BITCH! " Toby screamed as he struck her over and over with his fists and kicked her as hard as he could manage in the precarious position he was in.

Sarah gave one last pull and the crowbar came away, Vivian flew back and Toby ended up on the ground several feet away.

She turned to growl at the boy and Sarah panicked.

"No! You leave him out of this! " She swung the iron bar in her hands and missed, but it got Vivian's attention.

"You stupid girl. You're a fool. Fighting for the likes of Jareth. He is weak, being beaten by a child. The Labyrinth needs a ruler who will truly use its power as it should be used. We will win, and you and all of your kind, useless humans, and those disgusting goblins, and that impotent king who should have NEVER been given the throne, will suffer in ways beyond your imagination! "

She raised her hands to blast Sarah, but changed her mind, and swung around to direct it at Toby instead. "Watch your young die instead, and see. "

Sarah didn't think, what happened next was pure instinct.

In a blink she was standing in front of Toby, and raising her hands. A wall of magic blew Vivian across the parking lot 30 feet away.

She rose slowly, hissing at Sarah. "This isn't over, halfling." Then she was gone.

"Holy Shit Sar! " Toby limped to his sister's side. "How did you do that?! "

"Don't cuss." Sarah said out of habit. "I have no idea, but I bet he does." gesturing to the building, and said Goblin King somewhere within. "Are you okay? "

Toby shrugged. "Scraped up. Got worse skateboarding."

"Let's get you patched up." Sarah pushed him towards the hospital entrance. "Thanks by the way. My brother the ninja."

"Whatever. You're my ride so, kinda had to." He gave her a grin that said so much more.

"Smart-ass. Damn it I'm going to have to buy a new window." She grabbed her purse and phone out of her rather beaten up car, told the goblins hiding to stay hidden, put an arm around his shoulders and they went inside.

"Queenie is a badass. " One goblin said. The other nodded in agreement.

Sarah and Toby made their way inside the hospital. They were stopped the moment they walked in. "I'm fine," Sarah assured them. "We were jumped outside, but chased them off. Just take care of my brother."

Reluctantly Toby went with the nurses to be patched up. When one tried to lead her to the back to clean her up as well, she shook her head. "My friend was brought in a little while ago. David Jones. Is he alright?"

The nurse checked her computer and frowned. "He's in critical condition. He's unconscious and the doctors aren't sure what's going on. Should I call the police?"

"No, we're fine, it was quick and we didn't really see anything. She knocked us over and ran when we got up. Nothing was stolen. Where is he?" When the nurse hesitated, Sarah pleaded, "Please, I need to see him. I need to know he's alright."

Sighing, the nurse took her to a room in the back. "You can stay a few minutes, but then you'll have to leave and you really should let us look at those cuts." The nurse told her softly.

Sarah nodded as she walked in. She barely registered anything the woman said. Her attention was on the sleeping figure on the bed. She saw him as David, but in her mind, she was imagining the regal King she knew him to be.

Looking over her shoulder, she pulled the privacy curtain around the bed and moved to Jareth, leaning over him and whispering harshly.

"Jareth?" She tipped her head to the side. Frowning, at a loss for what to do, she warily scanned his form. "What am I supposed to do now? I just fought your strange ex in the parking lot, who is a witch? Like what?"

Struggling and knowing she was babbling, she looked down at her hands and wondered if whatever she did in the parking lot to the woman could be done to whatever had turned Jareth into a dimmer, more human version of himself.

Resting her hands on his cheeks and grasping his jaw, she closed her eyes and did her best to concentrate. "Please work..."  
********************

The castle beyond the goblin city suddenly shifted, as if an earthquake rolled underfoot.

Standing sharply, the woman sitting along the throne strode towards a window and looked outside. She screamed in anger at what she saw, seeing a swath of color returning the Labyrinth. It was still weak, but the spark was lit. She could feel it. "No! Not now, not after everything I've done!"

Slowly, she closed her eyes and calmed herself. "If you want something done, you must do it yourself."

Summoning a crystal, she threw it down on the ground and vanished from sight - also determined to ferret out her sister and have a word about her failure to handle the Champion like she asked.  
*******************

As Sarah focused on trying to return Jareth to normal, he began to glow as her magic took affect. Opening his eyes, he blinked, not sure if what he was seeing was real. "Sarah?"

She opened her eyes to find Jareth staring at her. His hair was still short, but his eyebrows were arched and had the beautiful marking around them once more. "It worked." She sighed with relief.

"Precious, what happened?" He asked as he noticed the cuts on her face and arms.

"Had a little disagreement with your ex." She chuckled.

"My ex?"

Before she could reply the privacy curtain was yanked open. "She means my idiot sister that couldn't deal with one pathetic mortal."

"Morgan." Jareth hissed.

"No matter. I'll kill your champion and then deal with you, Jareth." She summoned a crystal to her hand and went to throw it at Sarah.

The witch flung the crystal and Sarah's hand flew up and caught it before she had a chance to comprehend what she was doing as Jareth struggled to rise from his hospital bed. His head was clear, but his body still incredibly weak and achy.

Morgan's eyes widened in surprise. Her younger sister was weaker, so she figured Vivian had been exaggerating and had simply been beaten because she hadn't planned on the mortal having any magic, but the woman was far more powerful than she thought.

Sarah looked at the orb in her hand, and smiled sweetly at the witch. "Isn't that cute. Why is it you magic underground types refuse to learn your lessons." She threw it and used magic to increase the velocity.

It hit Morgan in the chest and she gasped. Her own magic couldn't kill her, but she felt herself being pulled back to the underground. As she faded she gave Jareth a sneer. "Your Champion can only protect you here, Goblin King. When you dare to return home my sisters and I will finish you...arrrrgh.. " She was gone with a loud pop.

Sarah took a deep breath and faced Jareth who was currently trying to stand.

"Oh crap." Sarah went around then bed and urged him to sit on the bed.

"Do you mind telling me what all this is about? " She asked. "And why exactly, am I suddenly able to blast magic out of my hands?"

He rubbed his face with his hands. "It's a long story, but you should know, there are 3 of them, and I can't imagine the eldest sister will be happy you bested the younger two. You're likely now marked for death."

"Well...fuck. Now what?"

Toby entered the room as she said that. "Oh sure, Sar. Tell me not to cuss and you're in here dropping f-bombs left and right. "

Jareth looked at them both and his smile grew. "We have some planning to do. Thank the Gods Toby is here too. I had the foresight to make certain to protect you magically, knowing they were looking for a way to get to me. You're both connected to The Labyrinths power directly, so it would treat you like one of it's own and protect you."

"What, does that mean for us? " Sarah tried to fathom it but couldn't.

"It means my power is split three ways and altogether, we can rid the underground of the scourge of those nasty witches once and for all."


	7. Chapter 7

Toby looked excited but Sarah simply looked wary. "Wait, back up. So...we have part of your power?"

Jareth nodded, catching Toby's inspection of him. Toby followed the hand gestures Jareth was doing as Sarah tried to wrap her mind around what was happening when Toby created a brief flash of lightning in his hand.

"Cool!" He grinned, once more an eager kid with a new toy.

Sarah glared at Jareth who simply smiled sheepishly.

"We need to go, before any of them show back up. But...ah...walking through the front door might cause a scene. So...any tips on how to get us to my car? We have a few of your goblins in the car, by the way."

Jareth frowned but stood slowly, still very weak. "Take my hand and just think of the car."

Sarah and Toby did as he instructed and soon enough, they were all by the car. Pressed against the window glass of the back seat were the two goblins from before, letting out faint cheers and doing a dance.

"Lady found Kingy! Woo!"

"Looky! You can see kings behind! " One said. They both covered their eyes in abject horror.

Jareth looked down at the hospital gown, which was flapping around in the breeze, and grabbed it in the back. "What happened to my pants? "

Toby snickered.

"Don't laugh." Sarah tapped him on the shoulder. "They're still inside. We can stop and get you something at the Walmart down the road. I'll give Toby the money and he can go in. They'll be cheap there, but they'll cover your ass. "

"This is the best vacation ever..." Toby snickered, watching as the goblins turned and smashes their rumps up against the window glass.

"Just...get in the damn car," Sarah barked.

The drive to Walmart was awkward. It was even more awkward asking what pant and underwear size Jareth wore.

When Toby nonchalantly asked if he preferred jeggings to jeans, Sarah almost screamed, throwing her wallet at him. "Just get the clothes, Toby!"

Toby grinned and left the car, Sarah and Jareth looking at one another but avoiding meeting eye contact.

"So..." she started.

"Let's talk which business, shall we?" His voice sounded strange.

"Yep, good idea. So what's the plan?"

"They are elemental witches, and can be destroyed only by the elements used to bring them into being. Created millenia ago to protect the underground, they turned on the leaders and destroyed many kingdoms. There are only a handful of us left. This is why there are so many refugees in mine. Remnants of their own lands. The Labyrinth is the safest place to be. "

"And if they get the Labyrinth... "Sarah wondered.

"I don't like to think about it, but even this world will not be safe. That they can now crossover is disturbing." Jareth shivered. "I wish I had my clothes."

"Here." She reached back and grabbed a blanket in the back seat, the blanket the goblins were hiding under. They booed her as she handed it to Jareth. "Shut up, miscreants." Jareth growled over the headrest. They became silent immediately.

"Okay, but why aren't there four? "Sarah helped him get the blanket settled.

"There were." Jareth snuggled into the warmth. "I killed the water witch. She attacked me and I managed to send her into the Kelpie pool, and they drowned her as I used magic to undo the weave holding her together. She melted and returned to water. The Kelpies were one of the first kingdoms destroyed, so they were quite happy to do it. But she was the weakest, and water elementals are notoriously fragile."

"So, what can we do?" Sarah looked behind and saw Toby leaving the store with a bag.

"We will have to isolate each and concentrate all our combined magic. It won't be easy, and we'll have to protect the boy. Even with magic, he is vulnerable to them."

"What do you mean? "

"Children are susceptible to turning, and they could turn him against us if we aren't careful, channeling their magic into him. "

"We can't let that happen." Sarah said as Toby hopped into the back seat, with a soda and bag of chips in one hand, and the bag with the clothes in the other.

"Here." he threw it in Jareth's lap. "I got sweats, jeans, a pack of boxers a pack of T-shirts and some socks. You're set."

"And the junk food? " Sarah saw a box of candy sticking out of his pocket.

Toby grinned. "I was hungry. You're boyfriends freak out interrupted my dinner, so didn't think you would mind. "

"Fine." Sarah rolled her eyes. She turned and noticed the hole in the window was gone. There were still some cracks but would make getting home much easier. The ride to Walmart had been tricky, even only the few blocks.

"I'm still weak, but was able to repair some of the damage while you were occupied with the boy just now." Jareth said.

"Thanks. Let go to my apartment and go from there. "

Sarah tried to think through how they were going to destroy three witches. If Jareth had managed to destroy the water witch, that meant they still had to handle earth, air and fire. They all made her nervous, any of those elements in the wrong environment could be deadly.

She wanted desperately to ask him how they were going to channel their magic and not risk Toby but didn't want to bring it up in the car with him there. She knew that as mature as he wanted to be, he was still a kid underneath it all.

Sighing, she drove them to her apartment this time, glancing cautiously around.

"Don't worry, they're still recovering from earlier. They have to recharge, so to speak." Jareth calmed her nerves, offering her a soft smile when she looked his way, realizing he'd noticed her concern.

Sarah nodded his way and they exited the car. She paused and asked the goblins to jump into some of her reusable bags she had in her trunk. They protested at first but a bark from a blanket-wrapped Jareth had them quickly climbing in.

Juggling them, she led Toby with his snacks and Jareth with his big bag of clothes to her front door.

Setting the bags down once inside, she motioned to where the bathroom was so Jareth could change and Toby settled on the recliner, eating his junk food snacks.

She let herself relax, once the door was firmly locked and let herself fall face first onto the couch.

The goblins looked around curiously and sat across from Sarah.

"Lady, you ok? Can we help?"

Sarah grumbled something unintelligible into the cushion before lifting her head to turn and look at them.. "Can you spy on these witches and warn us when they plan on coming back?"

She hadn't expected an answer, so when they said 'Sure thing!' she twisted and sat up.

"So go do it!" She yelled, scowling.

Yelping, they immediately vanished from sight.

Jareth had been watching, now fully clothed, from the doorway of the bathroom. "You're a natural." He smirked and leaned against the door frame.

"What, at bossing goblins around?" She sunk into her couch. "Are we safe here for the night, at least? We're all exhausted."

"Yes, we should be safe for the next day or so. You gave them a good blast."

"Good. Oh Shit." She looked at her watch." It's almost 3am. What about work? "

"I called and took the rest of the week off while I was alone at home, in between being asleep. I suggest you get a bad cold, very quickly. Being there could put others in danger. They have no care for collateral damage. We'll have to stay in place."

"Great, stuck here." Toby was now leaning against the bar that separated the kitchen and living room, swigging soda and eating chips. "Toby, go to bed. I'll set my alarm and call at 7am when I know someone will be at the desk. I mean it Toby, if Karen hears I let you stay up this late we'll both get a lecture. "

"Fine, but I'm taking my food." Toby headed towards the bedroom he had been assigned by his sister. "Behave you two, I don't want to hear any sex noises. " He cackled as he closed the door, knowing it would embarrass his sister.

"Go TO BED! "Sarah yelled, red faced.

She looked at Jareth and he was snickering. "Ahhh siblings."

"Sorry he said that." She said. " Let me make up the couch. " She rushed around, grabbing another blanket and a pillow.

"Sarah, it's okay, don't be embarrassed, really. I am well aware how siblings are. I wasn't hatched you know. I myself was a younger brother once upon a time."

This surprised Sarah. She never thought about his family. "Are they underground?"

"No. They were, but..." There was a look of distant pain in his eyes for just a moment. "That's a tale for another day, love. The Kingdom were I was born fell long ago."

Sarah observed him a minute then nodded. "Well there you go David, I mean, Jareth." She gestured to the couch, and he went to it and laid down.

She again made sure everything was locked, turned off the lights then went to her bedroom.

"Goodnight Jareth. " She called across the dark room.

"Goodnight Sarah."

She could hear the exhaustion in his voice.

"Good night John Boy! " Came from Toby's room.

"Shut up Toby! Go to sleep!" Sarah said.

As she crawled into bed, she heard both Toby and Jareth laughing.

"Great, two brats to look after." Sarah mumbled as she buried herself in her blankets and waited for sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Several hours later, Sarah woke to her alarm clock blaring. Groaning, she turned it off and grabbed the phone. Convincing the woman at at the desk she was sick was easy. Sarah truly felt like shit.

After she hung up, she debated going back to sleep, but then she remembered who was sleeping on her couch and the danger that was out there somewhere. Stumbling out of bed, she dressed and made her way to the kitchen.

Passing the couch, she stopped to check on Jareth. He was still sleeping and Sarah found herself just staring for a moment.

All of these years she thought it was a crazy dream, but now here he was. Jareth the Goblin King was in her apartment, sleeping on her couch, with no shirt.

Her eyes wandered his bare chest, admiring the top of his abs. He was lean and muscular, but by no means a body builder.

He was exactly as she remembered/imagined. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't fantasized about him after her trip through the Labyrinth.

She turn away, shaking her head to remind herself that now was not the time for such thoughts. They had a Labyrinth to save and witches to kill, but first she needed coffee.

She prepped and turned on the coffee maker and leaned against the counter.

"So much for a normal life." She sighed.

Opening the cabinet, she stretched to get the mug on the top shelf. She should have grabbed the step stool, but she was being stubborn. She nearly jumped as a long arm came along side hers and she felt a warm body beside her. "Allow me, Precious."

His raspy growl made her body shiver. She let him grab the mug and turned to thank him as she took it from his hand. "Thanks." She whispered as she realized he was just in his boxers.

Sarah visibly swallowed and almost stepped back but for some reason - after all the crazy shit that has happened that day - she didn't want to.

Jareth seemed to sense her acceptance and sat the mug aside, the coffee forgotten, leaning forward, hovering his mouth a few scant inches from hers for a moment to make sure she was ok with where he clearly wanted things to go.

"We can't be loud," she murmured softly and he nodded, tipping his head forward and finding her mouth with his. She moaned softly and he turned, tugging her to him, carrying her into the bedroom and quietly shutting the door.

The soft click of the bedroom door had Sarah's nerves pulsing with both desire and anxiety, knowing what was about to happen.

All her dreams of him had been real. All those nights yearning, wanting, needing, and he was here, holding her, telling her without words he wanted her.

She would no longer second guess this.

Jareth moved with her, cradling her head gently against his chest, as he carried her gently to the bed.

He paused, lowering her and allowing her to find her feet, pulling back just enough to tilt her head up and force her to stare into his eyes and see the unabated hunger there.

She swallowed, doing as he asked, accepting what she saw and letting him know she had no regrets by brushing her fingers over the flat planes of his chest, hearing his harsh exhale as she touched him.

He tipped his mouth forward, hovering it near hers, and her fingers trailed along his jaw briefly before she threaded them through his hair and she tipped her head back, parting her lips.

"Please…" She started to ask, but he'd already pressed forward, sweeping down low and catching her mouth aggressively once more with his.

His mouth was demanding and hot, his tongue thrusting boldly into her mouth, and she surrendered willingly. Perhaps because of the harsh demands of his kiss, his hands were gentle as they trailed away from her jaw to tug gently at the buttons on the front of her shirt and pants.

They dropped to the floor soundlessly as he pushed them from her body, making her shiver at the sudden cold air from the room.

Sensing this, he stepped forward, his hands kneading her breasts, drawing her nipples into fine aching points that stabbed the palms of his hands. She moaned softly, tilting her torso up, needing more from him.

Jareth shuddered as his mouth grew more aggressive, his teeth scraping along her lower lip and tongue as he pressed himself against her, letting her know by the hardness grinding at the soft expanse of skin between her hip bones that he wanted her.

Curling her arms around his neck, she let him tug her underwear off, feeling him do the same with his own, then he was pressing her back against the bed, tugging her knees gently apart so he could slip between them.

A harsh exhale against her mouth one he pressed himself against her core told her how excited he was. She realized, after several seconds, he was also trembling and not moving, simply hovering over her, poised and ready, but somehow waiting for her to let him know once more she wanted him.

Reaching between them, she grasped him softly and felt the ripple of want tear through his frame. She smiled against his mouth and rubbed the head of his shaft against her slick folds.

"I want you." she whispered against his mouth.

That was all he needed, tugging her wrist back to his neck and thrusting forward, he slid inside her sharply with a low groan.

Sarah moaned. The sensation of him filling her was almost painfully good.

His tongue thrust alongside hers to muffle her noises as he slowly began to pound into her. His grip on her shoulders tightened as his hips rolled at the perfect angle and pace to hit her just where she needed inside the most, making her groan and quickly spiral upwards sharply.

He stiffened just as she peaked and together they held onto each other as they roughly climaxed, still moving together despite the exquisite feel of one another tumbling over the precipice – her pulsing against the thrust of him in tight squeezing waves and him spilling inside her in a plume of liquid heat – until they sagged against each other in the aftermath.

Not yet ready to share words, Jareth slowly pulled from her and hovered over her, staring down at her. She opened her eyes slowly and he tugged her into the shower with him, where they washed together and gave into their needs once more before dressing and heading back into the living room and kitchen to finish breakfast.

They emerged from the bedroom both fully dressed. She should have felt embarrassed or guilty but decided she didn't and accepted it.

They didn't snuggle after, Sarah asking him to allow her time to digest the emotional ramifications of what this meant for them until after they'd defeated the witches and he seemed satisfied with that answer.

Jareth started remaking a pot of coffee and Sarah delved into the fridge, deciding to make breakfast. A few minutes later, the smell of cooking bacon drug Toby out of the guest bedroom.

"Morning," he mumbled sleepily, sliding onto a stool at the bar while he studied them both. "So what's next? We still gotta take down these witches, yeah?"

Jareth nodded. "Yes, the sisters will stop at nothing to get the Labyrinth's power. We can't let that happen."

Sarah made plates for all three of them and sat down with a large cup of coffee. "I agree they need to be stopped, but first, Jareth tell me how this all happened. Why were you human with no memory of who you are?"

He took a long gulp of his coffee. "Once my borders were breached, it was only a matter of time. I killed the one sister myself, which angered the other 3. Their first order of business after that was me, not the kingdom.

Jareth paused, remembering the dark days. "They began killing my subjects in retaliation. I though the best solution to protect my subjects was to curse The Labyrinth myself, put it in a deep dark freeze, you might say. I used The Labyrinth's own power to do it, because there is no way they can break any magic created with it. I needed to leave so I created an aboveground human cover, and set the curse in motion."

The Goblin King paused to take another swallow of coffee. "What I didn't count on is my own magic being so entwined with The Labyrinth, that it took my memory with it. So until a few days ago, the only life I knew was this one. Being near you, kissing you, began to awaken myself and The Labyrinth, because you defeated it, declared yourself my equal, you share my place. You've for all intents and purposes been The Goblin Queen since you were 15 years old. "

He gave her a wan smile. "That surely wasn't planned, but you defied all the odds, my not so ordinary girl. "

"Don't be gross." Toby said, seeing the look they exchanged. "Okay you guys figure it out, I'm going to watch TV." He poured himself a second glass of orange juice and flopped on the couch, turning the TV on. Loud.

Usually Sarah would tell Toby to turn it down, but the din gave her a chance to lean in close and talk to Jareth. "But how did they get in? "

She had a feeling of dread of what the answer likely was, but she had to hear him say it.

"Sarah I...it's not your fault. I should have done things differently, but yes, when you won, there was a temporary weakness they exploited. If that's what your asking. No one blames you. It just happened. I shouldn't have let myself..." He couldn't bring himself to say it.

"What no one knew." Sarah whispered, caressing his cheek. Her eyes welled up.

"Your were just so damn stubborn. And I had been alone too damn long. I didn't plan...but when you added those words to the story, I knew you were the one."

He leaned and kissed the tear on her face, then her lips. "We will win, but I will not let them take you or the boy, I swear it." He said low enough Toby wouldn't hear. "On my life."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Sarah answered. She sniffed back her tears and wiped her face. "Would it be safe to order pizza? "

"Yes. But we should clear out of here in the next few hours, just get in the car and drive as far as we can away from the city, into the countryside."

"I'll order one and we can take it with us." Sarah looked at the clock. "The place on the corner opens at 11 for can take what we need, order the pizza and pick it up on the way."

"Order two." Came from the couch. "If we are going to be killing witches, I need my strength. "

"Toby, you are far too casual about this." Sarah turned. "You do know we are in danger, right? "

His blonde head popped up over the arm of the sofa. "Sis, we can do this. They are counting on us being afraid of 'em. If we're not, they'll be more worried and nervous about what we'll do. I saw what you did, and he's the Goblin King, we're good. " He grinned and laid back down.

"When did you get so wise and brave, Gandalf? " Sarah got up and walked to her brother, reached down and ruffled his hair.

He looked up at his sister. "I don't know, just am. Let me finish watching Spongebob and we can get going. "

Jareth sitting at the bar behind he, chuckled. "He reminds me of myself as a lad, always up for an adventure. It bodes well for you, Sir Toby. "

"And him being like you is good thing? " Sarah teased the Goblin King.

"He'll have excellent taste in women someday, at least." He winked.

"GROSS! " Toby yelled, at no one in particular.

"Toby, not everything you don't like is gross." Still she had to laugh. It was a reminder how very young he still was. She knew it wouldn't be long before he whole attitude would change about such things.

Jareth took Sarah's hand, and gave it a squeeze. "Let's get prepared."

Sarah snapped to it then, cleaning off the table and the kitchen. Wandering back into her bedroom, she snatched several loose duffle bags and began packing standard fare for an extended trip, not knowing how long this would take.

She heard Jareth come in the room behind her and offer to help. She smiled and shook her head and finished shortly.

Slipping some tennis shoes on her feet, she moved to the door to help Toby gather his stuff but Jareth pulled her to him.

"I have no shoes." He said as he nuzzled her neck, and kissed her ear.

Her knees weakened and she leaned against him.

"I know I should give you a chance to come to grips with this but..." he started, not finishing, before pulling her in for another one of his mind-blowing kisses. This one lingered a lot longer than she had planned, leaving her a bit wobbly when he finally pulled away.

She swallowed and returned it, saying with actions what she wasn't yet ready to say with words.

"Let me get Toby in order. We'll stop somewhere and get you a pair of shoes. Think you can handle ordering pizza?" She whispered after she reluctantly pulled back from his kisses, and he nodded.

She handed him her cell phone and moved out the door to finish preparing to leave.


	9. Chapter 9

Three hours later, the three of them had made significant headway, driving towards the outskirts of rural Maryland. She had remembered a cabin of her cousin's that her parents had taken her to as kids and Jareth seemed satisfied that the place would do.

They stopped by a store on the way, bought some food and Jareth got a cheap pair of sneakers they had in a bin near the checkout.

Hours later, they finally arrived and began the arduous process of unpacking. Sarah was grateful she remembered the little statue in the flowerbed that held the extra key.

Once everything was finally settled in, and everyone had showered and changed, Sarah tiredly fell on the couch, running her eyes. It was after dark, and so far, everything had been quiet. .

"So what now?"

"Now we have a quick dinner of leftover pizza, then sleep. Then in the morning, we practice channeling our power together."

Sarah frowned, opening her eyes to peer over at him where he'd sprawled on the other end of the couch, not liking the sound of that, but knowing they had no choice.

Toby, who had snacked constantly on the drive, being a teenage boy with the typical voracious appetite that came with it, had passed out in the spare bedroom after his shower.

"Is this going to be like the other time? Are we going to have to channel an element?"

Jareth nodded, reaching out and running a few fingers against her cheek. "Something like that, yes."

Her and Jareth each had a couple of pieces of pizza warmed in the microwave, then sat back, both sleepy.

Sarah sighed and felt Jareth tug her wrist, pulling her to her feet. She didn't even protest when he pulled her into the bedroom. Too exhausted to do anything, she smiled when he simply chose to sleep in the bed with her, snuggling close and falling asleep once more.

Tomorrow was going to be a rough day.

Early next morning, before the sun was even up, Sarah woke when she felt Jareth stirring behind her. Rolling over to face him, she found him staring at her. "What is it?"

"Nothing." He kissed her softly. "Go back to sleep Precious. We still have a couple of hours before we have to get up."

"Easier said than done with you staring at me." She smirked. "So tell me what you're thinking."

He ran his hand through her dark locks. "I was just thinking of how I had dreamt of this. I longed to do this. To be here, with you."

"You dreamt of being in the middle of nowhere with witches wanting to kill us?" She teased.

"No my little minx. I dreamt of sharing a bed with you, usually mine or the one in the Queen's chambers which belongs to you." He kissed along her neck. "I dreamed of holding you in my arms," he lips kissed along the collar of the shirt she slept in. "Kissing you." He kissed her nose. "Making love to you for hours." He rubbed his nose against hers as he pulled her close, letting her feel his need for her.

Sighing he whispered in her ear. "I finally have you and I fear I may lose you before I can give you everything you deserve."

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she returned his kiss. " I'm not going anywhere without you." Sarah rested her forehead against his. "We'll beat the witches and have plenty of time to discuss where we go from here."

"I pray you're correct about that, love."

"We will. You'll see."

Sarah kissed him soundly as her hands played with his hair. It was still short, but she had noticed it was growing a lot faster than a normal human's hair would.

Jareth's hands began to explore her body as their need for each other took over. He ran a hand through her hair as she looked up at him with those big green cat eyes.

He bent and kissed her slowly. . A kiss of sweet longing.

He had been waiting for this, for her, a long time.

Sarah leaned away and tugged her shirt over her head, not taking her eyes from his.

"You're so beautiful." He said. She smiled and laid back, welcoming him back into her arms.

He moved in for more kisses while his hands explored. over her back, shoulders and arms, coming to rest on her breasts, lightly squeezing, his thumbs flicking over her nipples, making them hard.

Sarah pushed against him. She felt his erection against her leg as they rubbed against each other. She needed this. He was warm and felt so good. his lips lightly suckling at her neck while he touched her.

"Too many clothes.." She murmured. He grunted in agreement. He pushed her pajama shorts down and off.

"I like that you thought ahead and didn't wear underwear. Good idea." He said in her ear, making her giggle.

"I had hope." She tugged his sweats off and wrapped a hand around him. "You didn't wear underwear either."

When she started to move her hand he hissed slightly and gyrated his hips. "Damn woman..."

"Like that do you.." She leaned over and ran her tongue over one of his nipples as she pumped his cock.

"Yess...very much. gods." He head flopped back onto the bed. "You drive me insane. In the very best of ways.

He stopped Sarah's hand with his own, and proceeded to urge her on her back and did some more exploring himself.

As he took a nipple in his mouth and played with it with tongue, his hand slid between her thighs and rubbed her slit. "You're so wet." He growled. "So soft..." his slipped his fingers between her folds, a thumb at her clit while two others were slid inside, in and out.

Sarah bucked her hips. She wanted to do this all day, but their time was limited. "Please, I just, I want..I can't wait..just..I need you inside me."

"Since you asked nicely." He stopped toying with her sex, moved to position himself between her legs and slid himself inside her.

Sarah wrapped her legs around him and he began to move, pumping slowly at first. She rotated her lower body to meet with his thrusts.

They found their rhythm together, pushing and pulling against each other, trying to stay as quiet as possible.

On the brink, Sarah's body gripped his and she let herself go, spiraling into orgasm, she was having a hard time keeping her voice down, so Jareth kissed her, smothering her moans with his lips. A moment later his abdomen tightened and he followed her into bliss.

They lay there for a few minutes, just listening to each other breathe.

"That was wonderful" Jareth said. He kissed her here and there.

"Mmm..it was." She ran her hands down his back. "You know, I wouldn't mind doing it again, if you think you could handle it." She wiggled her eyebrows.

"Oh, love, I can handle it alright. Count on it. " He flipped her over so she was on top, and they lost themselves in each other once more.

When they exited the bedroom they found one of the two goblins sitting on the couch. "Hi Kingy! Hi Lady!" The little goblin smiled.

Toby came out of the second bedroom yawning. "Breakfast ready?"

"We just got up too, Tobes. Go into the living room, I'll make you something."

Sarah moved as if on autopilot once she went to the kitchen, Jareth and Toby staying in the living room and talking. She dug out two frying pans, and filling one with bacon, she then scrambled eggs in a bowl, and poured them into the other, using a fork to fry them evenly.

Mind elsewhere, she jumped slightly when she felt Jareth's arms lace around her waist while she made the eggs. "Smells delicious," he commented, giving her cheek a quick kiss before moving to make coffee and pour Toby some orange juice. "Let me help." He grabbed the bread to make toast.

Briefly, she realized how much she liked this - them, having breakfast together with her brother.

"So, this whole Underground refugee thing...and after the witches are defeated, does this mean you'll get all your power back? Or are we linked forever?"

Remembering how he was when she ran the Labyrinth, he seemed to be handling their equal powers in stride.

"Not that it's a bad thing, I mean. I'm just worried for you."

"I'm not sure what will happen when the curse on The Labyrinth breaks completely. I suppose we'll find out. I plan on breaking the curse as soon as they are within sight. " He said this far to casually than Sarah would expect, considering.

"But won't that put it in danger? " Sarah asked as she watched him buttering the warm slices of toast.

She set the table as he worked. When he was finished, he poured her coffee for her, then a cup for himself.

"One moment." He grabbed a bag of cookies, got a few out, and stepped around the corner to throw them to the goblin. "Here Speck. Go keep watch."

The goblin smiled a crooked smile as he snatched the cookies from the air."Gotcha Kingy! " Then he disappeared.

Once that was done, he answered Sarah. "The Labyrinth can take care of itself, I assure you. It's a matter of keeping them from being able to make a grab for control of it. But, it will provide ample distraction for us. With the coming storm, all the electricity in the air, we are going to take them by surprise." He placed the buttered toast on the table, as Toby walked in and sat down, and handed the boy his juice.

Sarah put the plates of eggs and bacon on the table for everyone to help themselves, and poured creamer into her coffee.

Jareth continued as he grabbed his coffee and sat down. "We need them to shift focus from us, even for a few minutes. Once the Labyrinth has a chance to fully claim you...well, I doubt you'll need my power any longer. You'll have your own. You see, you declared yourself my equal, but then you left. Your return will be you acknowledgement of acceptance you are taking the offer."

Sarah held up the creamer, and Jareth nodded, letting her some into his cup.

"What does that mean?" Toby asked while chewing a piece of toast.

Jareth smiled. "We are going underground. So be ready. They'll follow, and we can spring the trap."


	10. Chapter 10

Jareth worked with Toby and Sarah most of the day, teaching them how to channel. Somewhat at least. As they worked the sky got darker and darker, the nearly black clouds spreading across the sky like an ominous harbinger of death.

Thunder was so loud it rattled the house, lightning streaked to the ground. But it never rained.

The air was unnaturally thick and Sarah was sweating heavily as Jareth positioned her and taught her to focus, to use her emotions to pinpoint a spot and will the power to hit that spot. She was so hot, Her skin felt fevered, but she kept on.

When he was working with Toby, she would stand in the shower, the water cooling her down. She noticed Toby wasn't having the same issue. He was warm from exertion but not like Sarah.

Sarah had a feeling there was a reason, and either Jareth didn't know or wasn't telling her.

Sarah was exhausted and overheated, the power she was tapping into leaving her both jittery and weary at the same time.

She watched Jareth and Toby outside while the light outside began to dim as evening approached and the storm worsened. Even with the wind kicking up fiercely, there still wasn't any rain, but the sky was pregnant with a barely suppressed need to unleash a torrent down on the land the cabin stood on.

She forced herself to eat something, hoping it would settle her system. It helped but not as much as she'd like.

Sarah forced her hands to remain steady as she sipped on a cup of tea, she jumped and barely hung on to her cup when the other goblin that had been in the car with them appeared.

"Lady! Get Kingy! They're coming!"

Sarah dropped her cup. It shattered and tea went everywhere. She was on her feet and pulling opened the door before the shards had settled. "There coming! "

She ran to Jareth's side as he just stood there. In a heartbeat his eyes met hers.

 _I know._  She heard in her head, but his, lips never moved.

"Toby, behind me." He commanded. Gone was his gentle voice.

This was The Goblin King now.

He closed his eyes as he opened a portal to his kingdom. A portal he had not dared open in years.

Sarah watched as he began to glow, as black oily tendrils started to crawl up his legs, over his torso and shoulders as he began to chant. His hair lengthened.

She felt the ground sift beneath her and looked down, only to find the same thing happening to her. She went to move away and Jareth grabbed her arm.

"The curse in breaking, the Labyrinth is making it's claim. You must stay, or you will be ripped apart." In a moment she was covered in the same sleek black armor.

"Is it broken? "

"Almost. I'm holding it at bay with a simple thread."

Toby screamed behind her, and *they* appeared over the horizon. Flying low in sky. Sarah didn't dare move her eyes. "Toby? " She said.

"I'm...okay." He was clearly distressed but he answered, so that was something.

They landed about 50 feet away. Morgan and Vivian she recognized, and the tall woman with flame red-orange hair in the middle must have been Kenna.

The air stilled as they faced each other.

Kenna stepped forward, smiling. "Well, well, dearest Jareth. You've been busy, haven't you? Did you think you could hide? "

Jareth smirked. "Not at all. In fact, I was counting on you finding me. " He adjusted his glove, slipping a small dagger from it, into his palm.

"Death wish?" Morgan interjected.

Sarah took the opportunity to look at Jareth and Toby, who was also coated in black armor.

"Yes, yours." He replied.

He took Sarah's hand in his slipping the dagger into her palm from his. "On the lightning, Sarah. Throw, channel, wish, like I instructed. 3...2...now! "

Sarah flung the silver dagger as hard as she could, directing it towards the Earth Witch, Vivian, as lightning fell between the two groups, blinding them all, she didn't know if she hit her mark, but she heard a shriek. "I wish The Labyrinth would bring us home, right now! "

With the power of Sarah's wish and Jareth breaking the curse, Jareth, Sarah and Toby were sucked away to the underground.  
**********************

Sarah swayed on her feet but felt the sudden rush of power that slammed into her the moment the curse lifted. She struggled to breathe as her head suddenly felt like it wanted to explode, she staggered and leaned on Jareth as she felt the Labyrinth magic suck them Underground.

Moments later later the haze beagen to lift. She heard Jareth calling her name, though his voice sounded like it was at the far end of a tunnel.

One thing was sure, they were all alive so far. That had to be good, she just wondered when the dizziness and rush of magic would calm the storm inside her head.

"Be quiet!" She screamed when it reached a fever pitch.

Suddenly, all was quiet. She blinked, looking into Jareth's face.

Jareth, now truly looking like the Goblin King with his long wild hair and his battle armor, looked at her, concern written all over his face. "Sarah are you alright?"

She nodded and rubbed her head. The dizziness was fading and she was starting to feel much better. She no longer felt like she was roasting in her own skin. "Yeah, I'll be alright." She looked behind her and saw her brother dressed in battle armor identical to Jareth's. "Tobes are you ok?"

"Fine sis," the boy grinned. "I look pretty badass don't I?" He turned and placed his fists on his hips like a cartoon superhero.

"Don't cuss." She scolded, though he was right. They all looked badass, but then Jareth always did, she thought as she smiled at the King.

"We must hurry. They'll be here soon. We have to make it to the castle." Jareth told them.

Sarah looked and saw the were right outside the gate to the Goblin City. She could see the Castle and remembered the last time she had stood there. "At least I don't have to worry about you trying to drug me with peaches this time." She teased.

Chuckling, he shook his head. "Maybe later, love. Right now I have a throne to claim." He kissed her cheek and took her hand and motioned for Toby to follow. "Stay close. They'll try to separate us. if they get here before we make it."

Sarah kept a close eye on Toby as they hurried along the stone road towards the castle. Oddly, the place was eerily quiet. "Where are all the goblins?" She asked with concern.

Jareth hurried them along. "Some are awake, but likely in hiding. Most are still under the spell or just waking. Don't worry, love."

She looked over her shoulder to make sure Toby was beside them as they came up on the castle entrance. Things were still fairly calm as they slipped through the gates.

In the distance behind them, a rumble started and a large roar of wind whipped up. "Hurry!" Jareth roared, and they took off running for the throne room.

The ground kept shifting beneath them, making the 3 repeatedly run into each other like they were all drunk. "Just stay focused, The Labyrinth is stretching and unfurling itself, like after long nap. " Jareth said after a particularly violent jolt that resulted in the 3 landing in a pile on the stone.

They hung onto each other and made it up the castle steps, through the large doors and into the throne room, alarmed goblins slowly trickling in alongside them.

The doors banged closed behind them.

Jareth was on his throne in three large running jumps, his feet barely touching the floor. He was sitting down as Sarah joined him, and Toby was 3 steps behind. The dias shifted and they watched as a second throne appeared.

"For you, Goblin Queen." Jareth gestured with a smile. "Toby stand behind us, and we will await our...guests."

"What will happen now?" Sarah asked.

"We repel them away from the castle. I can protect the castle itself for now." He created a crystal and threw it, and when the cloud dissipated, there stood Hoggle, Sir Didymus and Ludo.

"Yer Majesty!" Hoggle look shocked, then relieved. "What in the blazes...Sarah! "

"Let's save the niceties for later, Higgle. We need all of your help. Here's what I need you to do."

Jareth sent each of the 3 of Sarah's friends on their way. Hoggle to the salt mine, Ludo to gather rocks and Sir Didymus to gather sand from The Lake of Reflection, which existed on the opposite side of the Labyrinth Sarah had seen. The sand was made of the same magic glass his crystals were. It would be dangerous to the witches while swirling around the room.

Ludo, Sir Didymus and Hoggle were instantly transported to their respective places.

Ludo tilted his head back and sang, drawing the rocks to his tune. Once enough were gathered, Jareth's magic instantly transported him back to the throne room and he settled in satisfied silence that he'd done as instructed by his sovereign.

Hoggle was instantly transported inside the salt mines, jerking with surprise at the suddenness of the transportation magic but knew time was of the essence. "Damned witches causing so much trouble!" He hurried and reached down, scooping fistfuls of the salt into his little pouch. Once enough was placed in the pouch, he was transported back to the throne room and sat near Ludo, nervous and more than a little frightened about the idea of the witches showing up but he'd never admit it with Sarah in the room.

Sir Didymus jumped into action the moment the transportation spell sat him near the Lake of Reflection. Pulling his scabbard off his belt and tossing his weapon aside for retrieval later, he hurriedly filled the container with the glittering crystal sand and held it close to his chest, leery to spill a single shard. Like the others, he was transported back to the throne room and just in the nick of time.

A loud ominous rumbling echoed off the castle walls as the witches banged on the doors with their magic, demanding entry.

It was time.


	11. Chapter 11

Jareth waved his arm and the doors opened wide. The 3 women strode in. Well 2 strode in, Vivian limped. There was a piece of cloth tied around her leg and a significant bloodstain. Sarah's throw had found her, though not quite what they had hoped.

"You'll pay for this, halfling." She growled at Sarah.

Jareth placed his fingers together into a triangle and held them to his chin, waiting.

"You really should just give up, Goblin King. " Kenna told him. "We *may* even be nice enough to let the 3 of you go above, once you relinquish your powers and your throne. You can take your plaything and the child, and not worry about all of this anymore. Live a nice long life above, have little halfling babies, and die a very old man. Doesn't that sound pleasant?"

Sarah looked at Jareth to gauge his reaction. She could feel his contained anger swirling within. He just smiled, as his brow rose in the way she remembered all those years ago in the tunnels.

Finally he spoke. His tone soft and even, the slight snap at the end of each word the only outward show of emotion.

"And I'm just supposed to...trust you. That you will just..." He waved his hand nonchalantly. "Let us leave? Go above, never bother us, never come after us or any kin, knowing full well we are the only real danger to your reign. We should just hand over the key to acquiring a power that would let you destroy what is left here, and begin raining hell upon the human world? Is that what you think we will do?"

He glanced at Sarah and rose. She followed suit.

He flicked his wrist and created three perfect crystals, and twirled them.

Sarah wondered what he was doing, what he was planning. She could feel the magic gathering around them, but couldn't read his mind.

She had figured out that if he wanted it to, he go send his thoughts directly to her mind, and likely Toby's. But he wasn't projecting to be cautious, in case the witches could detect his thoughts as well.

"No deal." He flung the 3 crystals at the women, and all hell broke loose.

Hoggle, Sir Didymus and Ludo had grabbed their stashes as asked before the doors had flung open, hiding behind the ornate metal doors as the witches strode in.

Hesitating only long enough during the time that Jareth conjured and flung the crystals, all three launched themselves at the witches with a battle cry, startling them from their stance.

Vivian whirled, feeling Hoggle's toss of the salt in her face, already weakened. She screamed as the salt seemed to cause her skin to burn, then the crystal slammed into her, wrapping the element around her. Screaming, the salt found a way immediately into her body- through the wound in her leg.

Twitching and howling, pleading to her sisters for help, she tried in vain to stop the magic progression but it was too late, it ate away at her from the inside out.

Just as one of them reached for her, she seemed to stumble and then shatter, falling to the floor like a lump of billowing sand, scattering across the stone floor of the throne room.

Just as Jareth has suspected, the magical salt of the underground's mines was her weakness.

Sadly, the other two sisters seemed to sense their doom and whirled, prepared for the attack by the others. If Jareth's crystals didn't hit home when the elements were released, things could end up very dire.

Morgan screamed as Vivian dissolved into a cone of scattered sand on the throne marble flooring. Snarling, she turned and clenched a fist towards Toby, doing exactly what Jareth warned of and Sarah feared.

Instantly, Toby started choking and Sarah sprung from her chair, shoving him out of the way as she started to choke in his place.

Doing her best to scream a warning but unable to suck in enough air to do so, she just struggled to stand and watched as Toby flung himself at Morgan, grabbing Jareth's crystal as Ludo called rock after rock to stack around the woman. She tried to leap forward, snagging Toby's foot, but he twisted and smashed her face with Jareth's crystal.

The crystal sand Didymus released was flung by the angry winds of the witch of air, and it worked its way into the woman through the scrapes in her skin that the rocks created.

Suddenly, Sarah was able to move. Furious, feeling a rage like she hadn't felt in years - at their situation, at the woman trying to harm Toby, at the women help bent on the typical unsatisfactory claim for power - she drove her fists together and with a loud boom, sent a spark of lightning towards the woman.

Toby was shielded by Ludo as her lightening contacted with the rocks, the shards in the woman's skin, and the witches power and suddenly - nothing remained but a brief sway of wind and weather blown rocks.

"You! You killed them!"

Kenna stood, her eyes glowing bright red, shocked and seemingly upset - but after a few minutes, she began to laugh. "Good! Saved me the trouble later. Now I won't have to share any of it!"

Stepping forward, slashing her hand sideways and sending the trio and the goblins still hiding in the area back with a brush of harsh magic so strong the group was instantly knocked unconscious, and sidestepped Jareth's crystal that laid alone on the floor.

"Before I kill you Jareth, I'll make you watch me rip your plaything's heart out, just for the inconvenience."

Suddenly materializing in front of Sarah, Kenna lunged forward and grabbed her neck tightly, her nails digging into the soft flesh of Sarah's neck.

Sarah's eyesight began to dim as she struggled to breathe. Blood ran down her neck. It rushed in her ears and she couldn't hear anything else.

 _This is it, I'm going to die. We're all going to die._ She thought.

She felt herself sliding towards unconsciousness.

On the brink, something happened.

Next thing she knew, she was being dragged by Toby, gasping and coughing. "Come on Sarah, wake up!" Toby slapped her face a few times and her eyes fluttered open.

She sat up and looked around. "What happened? "

"Holy crap sis, as soon as she had you in her grip, Jareth went psycho on her ass, Magic was flying everywhere, screaming and fireballs and crystals! It was badass!"

However, the throne room was silent. A mess but silent.

Sarah's stomach tightened as fear gripped her heart. "But where are they? "

"The guy owled out, when he went at her she turned into some kind of fiery bird, and they disappeared in a ball of feathers and flames. They're not here. "

Sarah felt her stomach sink. "Fuck."

Toby helped her stand.

"We need to find them." Her mind raced.  _But how? The Labyrinth was vast._

"I figured this might come in handy." Toby handed her one of Jareth's crystals. The one Kenna had kicked to the side.

Sarah took a deep breath. "I wish to be wherever The Goblin King is. Please, take me to Jareth."

She felt Toby grab onto her arm as they were again sucked away.  
*******************

Sarah and Toby landed hard on the ground, and discovered they were somewhere near the wise man's courtyard within the Labyrinth. As Sarah went to stand, a ball of fire flew so close it singed her hair and exploded into the stone behind her.

"Come out, Jareth!" Kenna's screechy voice said.

"Shhh." Sarah told Toby. She peeked around the corner and saw the woman with her back turned. She pulled Toby back the other way, and they crept along the path.

When she was far enough away she took a shot. "Jareth? " She whispered.

There was a slight groan a ways ahead. She followed it. A few moments later as she rounded yet another corner, she almost tripped over him.

"Oh God Jareth." He was leaning against the wall, holding one arm against his body, with burns and cuts all over him. But his eyes were open, and glaring at her. "I did what I had to do, love. I promised. I would not let your or the boy be killed. You shouldn't have followed me." his face softened. "Ever my defiant Sarah. Kenna is much stronger than I had anticipated. I believe she's been siphoning power from her sisters a long time. They should have been much harder to kill."

"Wow you look like hell." Toby said.

"Toby. " Sarah warned. "You need to go back. Take that crystal and wish yourself home. At least you'll be safe for a while."

There was an explosion nearby.

"Nope" Toby shook his head.

"You both should go." Jareth said.

"Listen Goblin King, this is my kingdom too now, and I'll be damned if I let some crazy bitch witch get her hands on it." She pulled him up and urged Toby to get on the other side.

She would figure out something.

As Toby carefully grabbed Jareth's other arm, they heard another explosion. Kenna obviously wasn't going to give up anytime soon.

Making their way through the hedge maze, Sarah looked around. She remembered coming up from the tunnels in a urn. If they could find the urn, perhaps they could hide in the tunnel for now. Just as she spotted the urn, Jareth groaned in pain. Stopping instantly, they looked to see him bleeding from all his wounds and Sarah saw how injured he truly was. "We just need to make it to the tunnels." She whispered.

Nodding, Jareth gritted his teeth and kept moving forward with their help. When his legs grew weak and he nearly fell, he growled in frustration. "Leave me Sarah." He tried to command. "Take Toby and flee into the tunnels."

"Not without you." Sarah argued.

"Damn it woman, now is not the time to defy me!" He hissed.

"You're injured and no match for her. If we leave you here she will kill you."

"Better that I die alone than her killing all of us."

As Sarah and Jareth argued, she and Toby practically carried him to the urn. Toby kept his eyes open for the witch and began to get an idea.

Reaching the urn, Sarah pushed the lid off and peered down into it. The ladder was still there, though it looked like it would break at any moment. "I don't know if we can make it. The ladder started to fall apart when Hoggle and I climbed up it years ago."

"Can we just jump?" Tovy questioned.

"The fall would kill us." Jareth groaned as he held his bleeding side.

"What if there was something soft down there to land on?"

Sarah and Jareth looked at the boy with two completely different expressions. Jareth's look practically screamed "Are you mad?" While Sarah's said "you're a genius"

Before either could respond a fireball flew by them, exploding a couple feet from them. Looking in the direction it came from, they all froze when they spotted the witch in the distance, but coming closer with a wicked grin. "Perfect. Now I can let you watch your play thing and the boy die." She cackled.

"Whatever we are going to do, we better do it. " Sarah said.

Toby picked up the crystal in his hand and held it over the urn. "I wish for huge giant pillows! " He said as he threw it down the hole.

"Toby let's..." Sarah started to say, then was promptly shoved after the crystal, and as she was holding Jareth up, he tumbled with her.

"Toby!" She screamed as she fell.

Not knowing what awaited her she held onto Jareth and braced for impact and prayed to whatever deities might be listening.

A second later she was dumped on top a pile of softness and sank in, the wished for pillows gently cradling her and Jareth in a pile of tangled arms and legs.

"Bollocks! That hurt even with the pillows..." Jareth groaned as they scrambled to right themselves.

"Wait where is Toby? " Sarah got on her feet and looked up. She could see Toby's head looking down and heard another explosion. "Toby come on! " She yelled. "Hurry! "

"It's cool Sarah, take care of glitter pants, I've got it. " he closed the lid, Leaving the two monarchs in semi darkness. Sarah and Jareth kept screaming his name but he ignored them.

Another exploding fireball boomed above them and Sarah slid to the floor. "Oh God Jareth, my baby brother.. " She began to sob uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry so sorry you got caught up in this, sorry I could regain my powers fast enough, and sorry I couldn't protect you both."

"I swear Jareth, I swear on my life, I will destroy her. If it's the last thing I do, she will pay."

The ground began to shift and rumble.

Something was happening.

They held onto each other huddled in the tunnels and waited for the end. There was nowhere left to go.


	12. Chapter 12

Toby slammed the lid down and turned to face the woman approaching him. "Stupid little boy. You would be the easiest to kill. But, I'm willing to negotiate because you are stupidly brave. You might be an asset. Perhaps I could use a fearless apprentice like you. Just get out of my way. "

Toby was much more frightened than he let on, but he refused to show her that. He held his hand up. "Back off."

The witch laughed. "Mortals are so amusing. But I'm growing bored. Live or die, child, makes no difference to me."

She flung more fire at him. It landed on the urn, melting it closed. "There, if you choose death, I can kill them at my leisure, once I have the Labyrinth. I can enjoy their long drawn out deaths in the tunnels. No food, no water, a few poisonous snakes, it could take several entertaining days. The halfling will likely die first, which will break Jareth. That will be so sweet to watch, as with every minute she will hate him more for causing your death, and hers."

When Toby said nothing, she heaved a heavy sigh. "I'm done with this boy, make a choice, live or die. Perhaps if you chose to live, I will let them go. Strip them of their powers and mortality, but they would be alive, and send them above. Consider it a gift."

Toby stared at her a long minute, his hand still raised, and remembered what Jareth taught him. He closed his eyes and reached out with his senses looking for something, anything...

"ANSWER ME! " The witch screeched at him.

When he looked again, her eyes were flames.

He smiled. "I choose life."

She grinned and put her hands down, thinking him a new ally.

_All too easy, turning a mortal child._

It was all Toby needed, a few precious seconds.

He grabbed on to the power he found and pushed it out through his hands, and a white hot energy hit Kenna in the torso and began to burn her from the middle outward.

He pushed and pushed opening himself up completely. The stones beneath him bucked and he nearly fell, but he didn't stop.

All he could think about was his sister, the one person who had never failed him, was counting on him, and he wouldn't fail her. He had never told her, but he loved her as much as he knew she loved him. And she loved Jareth, and that made the man a brother, kind of.

His young body was weakening under the onslaught and he felt like he was on fire, the magic burned as hot as the sun, but he knew instinctively The Labyrinth would not let him die.

The witch was on the ground, writhing and shrieking as she burned, flames flying everywhere, hedges going up in flames.

Slowly, far too slowly, her power was sucked from her.

Toby didn't stop until she was a black smudge on the ground. The ashes that were once Kenna were caught upon the winds, and scattered until there was nothing.

When Toby finally lowered his arms, he fell to his knees, sweaty and exhausted. He felt like he was a ghost, transparent, almost empty. "I choose life, and I choose your death." He fell forward on the ground and slipped into unconsciousness.  
******************

Sarah didn't know how long she laid there, clinging to Jareth, her tears pouring like rain. They felt the ground rumble beneath them and then suddenly it stopped.

"Sarah." Jareth whispered her name.

"What happened?"

"I'm not certain, but if Toby is dead Kenna will come for us next." He sat up and caressed her face. "Please Precious. Take the crystal and leave. I can't bare the thought of losing you too."

She shook her head. "I told you, I'm not leaving without you. I need to find Toby, I won't leave without him either." Her fingers gently traces his bruised face. "Plus I don't know where the crystal is."

"Stubborn woman." He sighed. "But that's part of the reason I love you."

Before she could reply, he kissed her. It wasn't a soft and tender kiss, nor was it a lustful and passionate one. No, this kiss was filled with all his feelings for her. He clung to her as he poured all his feelings into the kiss. When he finally pulled away, they were both panting for air.

"Goodbye my love." He whispered before shoving the crystal into her hands. "Labyrinth I wish for you to take Sarah home." He shoved her away from himself so he wouldn't be transported with her.

"Jareth!" She screamed his name as she felt the air around her shift as she was transported away from the tunnels.

A single tear rolled down the Goblin King's face as he watched her leave him, for what he was certain was the last time.

Sarah landed with a thud on top of a firm bed. She covered her eyes and cried. "No, no, I didn't want to leave him or Toby!"

She never noticed where exactly she had actually landed. Hearing noise from the Queen's chambers, several curious goblins snuck in the investigate. "Queenie?" Patch asked softly when he saw Sarah on the bed.

"Y-You're awake...and I'm...not home.."

Relief swamped her senses as she tried not to cry more. Sarah struggled to sit up, wincing at her wounds, but did so after some effort. She spotted Patches almost immediately.

"Your King needs you. He's in the tunnels. Bring him here at once!" Patches immediately disappeared as he ran off to do her bidding.

"You three..." She demanded of the other goblins staring at her, finding her voice. "Take me to my brother. NOW."  
*******************

When they found him, Sarah thought he was dead. She threw herself over his slight form, he was pale and so still.

His black armor had melted away to the jeans, t-shirt and sneakers he had been wearing. The shirt ironically depicted a cast of comic superheroes on it, his jeans torn and dirty.

"Toby, damn it, I'm so sorry. So fucking sorry. I did this. When I wished you away all those years ago. Not Jareth, it was me." She cradled him in her arms, weeping.  
******************

Toby slowly came to the sound someone sobbing. Wetness fell on his face.

_Was it raining? What's tickling me?_

With some effort he lifted his arm to brush away the annoyance but couldn't reach the spot because something was blocking and limiting he movements.

He opened his eyes to discover is his sister was holding him in such a way her hair was the culprit.

"Mmph...ugh." he blinked a few times, before closing them for a few seconds. When he tried again Sarah was holding very still, her eyes staring right into his, inches away, in joy and wonder.

"Geez Sar, that's creepy."

He pushed at her but then she was squealing and hugging and he couldn't get away.

"Oh my God Toby I thought you were dead I love you so much and don't ever do that again! "

She clung to him. And he was getting annoyed. "I swear if kiss me I'll punch you. Gross." He started to wiggle around to turn away, just in case.

Sarah reluctantly loosened her grip. His color was coming back. She couldn't stop looking at him. As annoying as he was sometimes, she adored the kid. "I'm sorry, I just...I thought I'd killed you. "

"What? Why would you think that? Ah damn. My favorite jeans." Sarah stood and helped him up as inspected himself. "Nah. Sis, it's cool. Where's Jareth? "

He spun in a circle.

"I'm here." He came around the corner, supported by Ludo, and followed by Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ambrosius, and various goblins. He was still injured, but already better as The Labyrinth began to heal him.

Sarah ran to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, crying into his chest.

"More crying. What is it with girls and crying? " Toby limped over, his knee still sore.

Jareth chuckled as he held her close. "Someday, young warrior, you'll understand. Well inasmuch as any man can ever understand." He kissed Sarah on her forehead. "Let's go back to the castle and sort everything out."

Sarah grabbed her brother and everyone disappeared together.  
******************

A few hours later, they'd managed a thorough inspection of the Labyrinth and its inhabitants either through crystal scrying or goblin emissaries. Finally able to rest, they all fell into seats in the dining hall as the castle inhabitants insisted on cooking them a 'welcome home' dinner.

Sarah had kept an eye on both Toby and Jareth who looked worse than she did but even she was pleasantly surprised that as the Labyrinth recovered from the curse, so did their health. By the time dinner was ready to be served, all three of them were mostly back to order. When she asked Jareth about it, he said as it repaired itself, so did it repair its stewards. She blinked at that, casting a questioning glance at Toby, and he nodded.

There was so much to take in, consider, and figure out, especially as it pertained to Toby.

"While we wait on dinner, I'd like to discuss what happens next. What do you two plan on doing now? Since everything's been sorted."

Sarah could hear the hesitancy and vulnerability in his voice and reached forward to grab his hand when she heard Toby speak.

"I can't leave mom and dad but can I visit you guys on weekends?"

Sarah smiled as Jareth looked hesitant towards Sarah, her heart squeezing at the hopeful look on his face when Toby implied she'd be staying.

"Would you like that, Jareth? If Toby visited us on the weekends?"

He grinned then, his eyes softening. "I'd like that very much." He murmured, his voice betraying his nerves as it trembled on a few words. "You'll be staying?"

She smiled and leaned forward, giving him a soft kiss. "Yes."

"Ew!" Toby made a face."At least even that wouldn't make me not want to eat. I'm starving to death here."

"We should do the right thing, and give our current employers notice." Jareth suggested. "It will only be a couple of weeks, and I have some other above ground business to tie up. What say you, oh Goblin Queen?"

She nodded in agreement. "Yeah, probably. Good idea. I was thinking, I would like to work for a while longer, but I swear I'll be home every night, if that's okay? We should probably keep a place there anyway."

Jareth's eyes twinkled at her as leaned in grinned wickedly."You may do what you please, love, as long as you're in my bed every night."

He tried to say it quietly enough to keep the boy from hearing but it was obvious by his expression he did. Before Toby could say anything, Jareth held up his hand. "I know, I know It's gross...ahh, dinner is served."

The Goblins paraded out of the kitchens with plates of food, followed by the castle cooks. They took great delight in presenting each dish and welcoming their monarchs.

The servants went around and filled plates, refilled the large wine cups for Jareth and Sarah, and plain juice for Toby.

Jareth ordered them to make sure Sarah's friends and all the goblins got a feast as well.

The cooks were dismissed and two goblin servants stood quietly to the side in case they were needed.

The dinner was fabulous as expected and before too long, they were full, as well as exhausted. Jareth had left and promised to return as he took Toby to his quarters for the night.

Idly wandering the halls, Sarah spotted Patches and his friend and smiled down at them as they stilled and did the goblin equivalency of a blush. "How long have you been there?"

"We were told to watch you, make sure you didn't need anything. Sorry Queenie."

Sarah waved a hand, touched Jareth thought of her. A random thought occurred to her then and she paused, looking down at them. "How was it you two were unaffected by the curse? You were awake and yourselves even before Jareth."

They looked between themselves and their grayish-green skin flushed pink again. "Um, well, we could...if you promise not to tell Kingy."

Sarah raised an eyebrow but nodded, looking over her shoulder to make sure they were alone and leaned down so Patches could whisper in her ear.

"Kingy was very sad when you left. He wouldn't say it, but he missed you. So we...left...to keep an eye on you. We hoped you'd miss Kingy too and you did, from your diary. We're sorry we spied but we were worried about Kingy. Then he went missing and we were so scared, we stayed with you. Then you fixed it all!"

Sarah paused and sucked in a sharp breath. "So you were why I always ran out of candy mysteriously?"

They at least had the audacity to look embarrassed but she smiled and hugged them. "You did good. Your secret is safe with me. I owe both a big bag of candy. Each."

Just then, Jareth walked around the corner and Patches shoved his companion down the hall to give the couple a private moment together.

Jareth stopped and took her in. She had changed back into a pair of jeans and a long sleeved fitted t shirt. And she was the most beautiful sight he had ever had the pleasure to see.

"What are *you* staring at?" She teased as she walked to him.

"You. Plan for it to happen often, because you are a vision." He opened his arms, and she stepped into them.

"About Toby, "He began. "He told me what happened. It's unprecedented. I need to do a great deal of research, but even I have never had that kind of power over The Labyrinth. He is a very special young man. I'll need to train him so he doesn't hurt himself, but he's a natural."

"Will you tell me? He shrugged it off when I asked."

"Yes, but let's go crawl into bed and rest." Jareth guided her to his rooms, now their rooms.

"I hope you aren't too tired. " She said suggestively, and moved her hand to squeeze his backside.

"Haha, no my little vixen, I'll never be too tired for you."

He opened the door and pulled her inside. The next thing Sarah knew she against the door, his lean body holding her there as his lips were on hers. She wound her arms over his shoulders and fingers through his hair.

After several more kisses he stopped and just held her there. "I promise, never, ever too tired."

"I love you, Jareth." She whispered against his lips.

"I love you, Sarah mine." He once more captured her lips, sealing their declarations with a searing kiss, as he lifted her and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

He carried her to the bed, and they gave in to the passion that was only getting stronger as the bond between king and queen solidified into permanence.

They were finally home.


	13. Chapter 13

_Epilogue Pt 1._

_5 years later, aboveground._

"Hey Sar! " Toby yelled across the lawn in the Williams' back yard. He waved and jogged over, a wide grin on his face.

"Toby! Happy Birthday! "

He grabbed her and swung her around, it had been a few months.

He had left in June to go traveling with some friends before starting college. But as promised he returned for his 18th birthday in August and to spend a few days underground with his sister and brother in law before school started.

"Tobias." Jareth greeted him, standing to the side of Sarah.

"You've grown again." Sarah said, looking up at Toby. He was now about 8 inches taller than her, and she was surprised by it every time she saw him.

"Nah. You're just short. Hey, J-man, how's it hanging? "

He stuck his hand out to Jareth, his shaggy blonde hair falling over one eye.

Outwardly, Toby was a tall lanky young man with an easy smile and bright blue eyes. He had quick wit and and loved joking around, made friends easily, and enjoyed playing the guitar and skateboarding.

What no one knew, present company excluded, he was one of the most powerful magic users to ever exist in the underground, trained under the apprenticeship of The Goblin King, and that night after this late summer barbecue in an ordinary suburban backyard, he would be so much more, taking his vows as Prince of The Goblin Kingdom.

He would also continue his education above in college, as well as underground, to learn how to be a fulfill his station.

He'd promised his parents he would go to college and graduate, it was one concession everyone agreed was for the best. He was still so young and needed to have that experience.

Sarah was so proud. After they had defeated the witches life in the Labyrinth returned to normal. The Labyrinth healed, Jareth healed, and within the year The King and his Champion were married both above and below.

Some denizens had left the Labyrinth, going home to their ancestral lands to see what was left, if any of their kin survived.

Jareth had yet to travel to the kingdom where he had been born. He feared it had been too long for anyone to be alive. He was afraid to know. Sarah promised if or when he wanted to go, she would go with him. Wherever one was, the other monarch was never far away.

"Hi baby girl." Sarah's dad came over and engulfed his only daughter in a hug. "How are things, you know, there? He had accepted the incredulous path his children had taken, but still struggled at times with the strangeness of it all. But he knew Jareth loved her, so it made things easier.

The three together had decided honesty was best, so a couple of years after the events that had brought them back together, they told Robert and Karen everything. They had even visited a couple of times.

"Everything is great dad. Where's Karen? She's coming isn't she? "

"She's in the house with her new boyfriend. So I'm out here, standing around."

They had divorced a couple of years earlier, Karen choosing to move back to California where she was from, and letting Toby stay there, where he preferred.

"That's nice of you dad, letting her bring him along. "

He shrugged. "I'm seeing someone too, but she couldn't come. Hey, we're all still a family, right?"

Sarah gave him another hug.

The day was pleasant, Toby getting most of the attention. Lots of good food, friends, family, cake, and presents. The day turned to night and it broke up, guests leaving, Karen going to her hotel, leaving just Toby, Sarah, Jareth, and Mr. Williams.

Jareth picked up one of Toby's bags in preparation to go. "Ready? "

The two siblings turned to their father. He sighed and gathered them close. "You two take care of each other, okay? "

"You're welcome to come, Dad. " Sarah urged. "we'd love to have you."

Robert smiled and kissed her cheek. "I don't belong there, honey. I'm just an ordinary guy. I like going to work, coming home, maybe seeing a movie. However this all happened, that's your life, and Toby's. I'll be fine. Tomorrow I'll go golfing and tomorrow night I have a date. I'm good with an ordinary life. I love you two. I promise I'll visit another time."

He put his hands on his son's shoulders. "I am so proud of you. I'll see you next week. I got tickets for a ball game like we planned, then I'll get you settled at school. It'll be great. This is how it's supposed to be. Well, mostly."

He looked at Jareth, this strange man from another world who had turned his upside down, but there was mutual respect there, and understanding. "Take good care of them. "

Jareth nodded. Toby waved and Sarah blew her father a kiss. "We love you!"

In a moment they were gone.  
*********************

Epilogue Pt. 2.

_That night, Underground._

When the King and Queen returned home, the entire kingdom turned out.

They knew their prince was coming home to be crowned, so threw a huge welcoming party.

Toby had grown to love the goblin lands and all those that lived within. He noticed a few missing faces.

"Where's Ludo?" He asked Sarah.

"He went home to see if there were any rock ogres left. Didymus went with him so he wouldn't have to go alone. He'll be back, he promised. But, he's the only one of his kind here, and I can imagine he's lonely for his own, as much as he loves us all. Who knows, maybe he'll find a lady ogre." She smiled sadly. She missed her friends.

"Hoggle is still here right?" Toby looked around.

His question drew a sigh from Jareth. "Yes, unfortunately."

This got an elbow to the side from his wife. "I know I know, he has his place. Well then, shall we get started?"

Everyone took their places.

The King and Queen stood on their dias, and Toby stood at the foot of the stairs.

Jareth gestured for him to kneel and bow his head as Jareth traversed the few steps separating them.

"Repeat after me. I Tobias Lee Williams, child of the human world, do vow to serve The Goblin Kingdom as its Prince, in all good faith and measure, willing to give up even my own life, to protect its lands and citizens, its King and Queen, and to protect The Labyrinth and its sacred fount of power, to my last breath."

Sarah held her breath. Even though this was a well practiced ceremony, tears threatened to stream down her face. She would create a memory crystal of it later for her father to see containing all of their points of view. They had worked so hard for this moment.

Toby looked up and met her eyes. Emotions rarely spoken by him were said in that look. She nodded and understood, he didn't have to say a word.

Carefully, he repeated Jareth, not taking his eyes from his sister. Jareth walked down the stairs, and placed the crown on his head.

"Stand, Goblin Prince Tobias." He said. His heart full of pride.

When Toby got to his feet he turned and was formally announced. "I give you, Goblin Kingdom, your Prince. Lord Tobias, of the House of Williams, brother of your Lady Queen Sarah, of the House of Williams."

The crowd cheered.

The celebration was huge.

Sarah supposed not only every Goblin Kingdom citizen was there, but most citizens of every remaining kingdom as well.

It had a very long time since a new prince had been crowned. A true heir. Now the underground could begin to thrive once more, and not just exist. The took it as a sign that there was only good things ahead.

It lasted well into the next day, with dance and drink and food from everywhere. Only when it all had been eaten and drank and every dance danced did the party start to break up.

Toby finally went to bed and passed out, exhausted. He had been up drinking, dancing and carousing for nearly 2 days.

Several underground ladies had fluttered around him like colorful butterflies and he had taken it all in, reveling in the attention his good looks and blue eyes had attracted.

Now he got it, and his sister and Jareth teased him often. Kissing was no longer as gross as he had thought.  
***********************

Jareth lay on the bed in his chambers, shirtless, watching Sarah change into her nightclothes. It was still not quite dark but they were both worn out.

They took an early supper and retired for the last 2 days had been eventful ones. The kingdom was finally quiet as all residents slept off the celebratory events.

"So, do you think Toby will do okay as a prince?" Sarah asked as she moved around the room.

"Yes, love, he'll be fine. Now that he is safely crowned, we can take some time for ourselves perhaps. Maybe a long vacation."

She joined him on the bed. "A honeymoon at last?" She joked.

Jareth pulled her down gently to lay against him. "It's been a never ending honeymoon I think, but if you would like. Anywhere above or below, we will go."

She kissed him slowly. "Then maybe, maybe, we can start talking about creating some little goblins of our very own." She traced over his chest with her finger, and batted her eyelashes. "If you want, that is."

His little smile grew into a grin. "Sarah, nothing would make me happier. I was just letting you take the lead on that. I didn't want to push. I figured we were getting in good practice either way."

"Ha. Well..speaking of, I think we might need more." She moved over to straddle his hips and wiggled against him, making him groan.

He grabbed her thighs and she leaned over him, kissing his neck.

"Well, you know what they say...practice makes perfect." He replied with a growl.

He rolled them over until she was beneath him.

"Oh indeed, Goblin King, indeed. Let's get to practicing." She tugged at his pants.

"Whatever you want, love, I said it years ago, and it still rings true. I'm never too tired when it comes to you. So practice we shall, until the stars falls fall down."

And so they did.

~fin~

**Author's Note:**

> Authors:
> 
> breejah0923(FFN)/breejah(AO3)  
> HisMajestyJareth  
> JediAvenger  
> Jetredgirl  
> Lady-Lannie-Queen-of-Goblins  
> Lykiana


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